Woahink Lake (hō' hingk) extends further below

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

than any other lake dammed by sand dunes along the coast of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. The lake fills a depression in the

Siltcoos River The Siltcoos River is a stream on the central coast of the U.S. state of Oregon. It begins at Siltcoos Lake, which straddles the border between Douglas and Lane counties. The river meanders generally west to the Pacific Ocean. It is located abou ...

watershed about from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

south of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

along

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

. The lowest point of the lake, which is up to deep, is about below sea level. The lake drains south to

Siltcoos Lake Siltcoos Lake (silt’-koos), at , is the largest lake on the Oregon Coast of the United States. Fed by runoff from a basin of about in Douglas and Lane counties, it is about south of Florence and east of U.S. Route 101. Its name comes from a L ...

via Woahink Creek. The lake's name may derive from the

Siuslaw language Siuslaw was the language of the Siuslaw people and Lower Umpqua ( Kuitsh) people of Oregon. It is also known as ''Lower Umpqua''. The Siuslaw language had two dialects: Siuslaw proper (Šaayušƛa) and Lower Umpqua (Quuiič). Classification Si ...

Geology

Woahink Lake is a former estuary that has been blocked by sand dunes. The lake formed during a rise in sea level during deglaciation, when sand dunes were emplaced, blocking the flow of the lower reaches of several of Oregon's coastal rivers. A sediment core from Woahink Lake revealed that a dune was emplaced, changing the estuary to a lake, 7400 years ago, which was then breached, then formed again before 5400 years ago. Sand for the dune sheets was derived from regional rivers. Unlike the downstream

, which is relatively shallow, Woahink Lake fills a narrow steep-walled depression that likely had a different outlet when it was an estuary.

Watershed

Covering about , Woahink Lake's drainage basin lies between a dune complex, part of

Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is located on the Oregon Coast, stretching approximately north of the Coos River in North Bend to the Siuslaw River in Florence, and adjoining Honeyman State Park on the west. It is part of Siuslaw Nat ...

, on the west and foothills of the

Oregon Coast Range The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, in the U.S. state of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean. This north-south runni ...

on the east. U.S. Route 101 runs along the west side of the lake.

Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park, also known simply as Honeyman State Park, is in Lane County of the U.S. state of Oregon. It lies south of Florence along Highway 101, the coastal highway. The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area adjo ...

borders the northwest corner of the lake, and the

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

community of North Beach lies between Woahink and Siltcoos lakes. North Beach and other residential areas near the lake are part of Dunes City. Except for the state park, most of the shoreline and the land in the basin is privately owned. Rainfall averages a year, and

coniferous forest Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All exta ...

covers much of the undeveloped land.

Recreation

The lake is popular for a variety of activities, including fishing. Species include

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...

rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

and

coastal cutthroat trout The coastal cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii''), also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout found in Western North America. The coastal cutthroa ...

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samu ...

, and others. The part of the state park on the east side of the highway near Woahink Lake has boat ramps, a roped-off swimming area, group tent camps, picnic areas, and a meeting hall. Lake Woahink Seaplane Base is located at the lake. Base headquarters are in Florence.

References

External links

* {{authority control Lakes of Oregon Lakes of Lane County, Oregon

Geology

Watershed

Recreation

See also

References

External links