Baldwin Lake is a

natural Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...

, intermittent, alkali lake in the of the

San Bernardino Mountains The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain ...

, in

San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County ( ), officially the County of San Bernardino and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is locat ...

. It is located east of

Big Bear Lake Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the Western United States, western United States, located in the San Bernardino Mountains in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County, California. It is a snow and rain-fed lake, having no other m ...

reservoir and Big Bear City.Big Bear Frontier: "About Baldwin Lake"
. accessed 4.1.2016.

Geography

The lake is at a surface elevation of . Its deepest point it can be approximately . At its widest, the lake is more than across. It is in the headwaters watershed of the

Santa Ana River The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino and Riversid ...

. The terrain surrounding the lakebed supports montane

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

and

pinyon–juniper woodland Pinyon–juniper woodland, also spelled piñon–juniper woodland, is a biome found mid-elevations in arid regions of the Western United States, characterized by being an open forest dominated by low, bushy, evergreen Juniperus, junipers, pinyon ...

habitats.

Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve

Baldwin Lake is within the 156-acre Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve. It is at the intersection of California State Route 18 and Holcomb Valley Road on the north side of the lake. Hwy 18 wraps around the northeastern and northern shores of Baldwin Lake. Calflora.net Blog: "Pebble Plains at Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve" (with photo gallery)
by Michael L. Charters, April 2012. The Baldwin Lake linanthus (''Linanthus killipii'') is a rare plant at lake's pebble plain and adjacent meadows, that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the locale and an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

.Calflora Database: ''Linanthus killipii'' (Baldwin Lake linanthus)
/ref>Jepson eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Linanthus killipii''
/ref>

History

The Eye of God, a historic quartz dome, is located in the Baldwin Lake area. Benjamin Davis Wilson encountered the lake in 1845, while tracking horse thieves in the

. When Wilson saw that the region was populated by many

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...

s, he divided his 22 men into hunting partners. The men slaughtered 11 bears for the fur pelts. While returning to Jurupa (Riverside), they slaughtered another 11 bears for the fur. Wilson named the region Big Bear Valley, and the lake he called Lake Big Bear.History of Big Bear Lake
/ref> In 1884, the Bear Valley Land and Water Company began construction of a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

southwest of the lake. The company's stakeholders named the new

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

. They also renamed the alkali lake to Baldwin Lake, after Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin, who came to Big Bear and Holcomb Valley in 1876 when he purchased Gold Mountain Mine, later renamed Baldwin Mine.

Baldwin Lake Community Improvement Association

In January 2011, the Baldwin Lake Community Improvement Association was formed which is a non-profit volunteer organization of residents, business and property owners in the lake's adjacent community, who share a common appreciation for the beauty and diversity of Baldwin Lake.Baldwin Lake Community Improvement Association
/ref> The Baldwin Lake CIA is within the Big Bear City CDP for

demographic Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analy ...

statistics. The mission is to improve, beautify and preserve the quality of life in Baldwin Lake through the development of outdoor environmental education programs, community gardens, and a small business incubator to create a sustainable future for the residents of Baldwin Lake.

References

External links

Baldwin Lake Fire Department

US Forest Service.gov: Guide to Big Bear Valley Hiking Trails
— ''trail descriptions and maps''.

{{authority control Lakes of San Bernardino County, California Big Bear Valley San Bernardino Mountains San Bernardino National Forest Santa Ana River Nature reserves in California Natural history of San Bernardino County, California Protected areas of San Bernardino County, California Lakes of Southern California Lakes of California