Goose Lake is a large
alkaline lake
A soda lake or alkaline lake is a lake on the strongly alkaline side of neutrality, typically with a pH value between 9 and 12. They are characterized by high concentrations of carbonate salts, typically sodium carbonate (and related salt compl ...
in the
Goose Lake Valley
The Goose Lake Valley is located in south-central Oregon and northeastern California in the United States. It is a high valley at the northwestern corner of North America's Great Basin. Much of the valley floor is covered by Goose Lake, a la ...
on the
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...
–
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
border in the United States. Like many other lakes in the
Great Basin, it is a
pluvial lake
A pluvial lake is a body of water that accumulated in a basin because of a greater moisture availability resulting from changes in temperature and/or precipitation. These intervals of greater moisture availability are not always contemporaneous ...
that formed from precipitation and melting glaciers during the
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed ...
epoch.
[Green, p. 75] The north portion of the lake is in
Lake County, Oregon
Lake County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,160. Its county seat is Lakeview. The county is named after the many lakes found within its boundaries, including Lake Abert, Sum ...
, and the south portion is in
Modoc County, California
Modoc County () is a county in the far northeast corner of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 8,700 as of the 2020 census, down from 9,686 from the 2010 census. This makes it California's third-least populous county. The county sea ...
. The mountains at the north end of the lake are part of the
Fremont National Forest The Fremont-Winema National Forest of south central Oregon is a mountainous region with a rich geological, ecological, archaeological, and historical history. Founded in 1908, the Fremont National Forest was originally protected as the Goose Lake F ...
, and the south end of the lake is adjacent to
Modoc National Forest
Modoc National Forest is a U.S. national forest in Northeastern California.
Geography
The Modoc National Forest protects parts of Modoc (82.9% of acreage), Lassen (9.4%), and Siskiyou (7.7%) counties. Most of the forest was covered by immense ...
lands. Most of the valley property around the lake is privately owned agricultural land, though
Goose Lake State Recreation Area is on the Oregon side of the lake.
Goose Lake is the center of a semi-closed
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
. Its watershed is normally
endorheic
An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...
, but sometimes flows into the
Pit River
The Pit River is a major river draining from northeastern California into the state's Central Valley. The Pit, the Klamath and the Columbia are the only three rivers in the U.S. that cross the Cascade Range.
The longest tributary of the Sacr ...
, part of the
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–S ...
watershed, during periods of high water following heavy rainfall or snowmelt. During the 1970s and 1980s, the
USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
defined Goose Lake as part of the Sacramento's watershed,
but has redefined Goose Lake's watershed as a closed basin.
[ ArcExplorer ]GIS
A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with software tools for managing, analyzing, and visualizing those data. In a ...
data viewer.
Background

Goose Lake is part of a
geological trough which runs from Oregon southward past
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the hottest place on Earth.
Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of lowest elevation in North Am ...
, the
Walker Lane
The Walker Lane is a geologic trough roughly aligned with the California/Nevada border southward to where Death Valley intersects the Garlock Fault, a major left lateral, or sinistral, strike-slip fault. The north-northwest end of the Walker L ...
.
Goose Lake State Recreation Area includes a campground with various amenities. The park attracts wildlife watchers, campers, and boaters. The campground is open mid-April to mid-October. It is habitat to many flora and fauna including
western grebe
The western grebe (''Aechmophorus occidentalis'') is a species in the grebe family of water birds. Folk names include "dabchick", "swan grebe" and "swan-necked grebe".
Western grebe fossils from the Late Pleistocene of southwest North America we ...
,
long-billed curlew
The long-billed curlew (''Numenius americanus'') is a large North American shorebird of the family Scolopacidae. This species was also called "sicklebird" and the "candlestick bird". The species breeds in central and western North America, migra ...
, and a large herd of
mule deer
The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer.
Unlike the related whit ...
which spend much of the time in the 48-site campground.
Recreational activities on or around the lake include kayaking, canoeing, and hunting, but not fishing. When the lake is full, it has a maximum depth of .
The lake is located near the historic
Fandango Pass route that 19th century settlers used to enter California. In the mid-19th century, particularly during the
California Gold Rush, the ''Applegate-Lassen Cut-Off'' of the
California Trail
The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...
left the main route of that Trail near present-day
Rye Patch Reservoir, and crossed the
Black Rock Desert
__NOTOC__
The Black Rock Desert is a semi-arid region (in the Great Basin shrub steppe eco-region) of lava beds and playa, or alkali flats, situated in the Black Rock Desert–High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, a silt ...
, on the way to Goose Lake and the California gold fields. The ''Lassen Cut-Off'' continued down the
Pit River
The Pit River is a major river draining from northeastern California into the state's Central Valley. The Pit, the Klamath and the Columbia are the only three rivers in the U.S. that cross the Cascade Range.
The longest tributary of the Sacr ...
into California's
Central Valley, while the
Applegate Cut-Off
The Applegate Trail was an emigrant trail through the present-day U.S. states of Idaho, Nevada, California, and Oregon used in the mid-19th century by emigrants on the American frontier. It was originally intended as a less dangerous alternative ...
went into southern Oregon along the
Lost River.
The lake completely dried up in the years 1851, 1852, 1926, 1929–1934, 1992, 2009, and 2013-2015. Goose Lake overflowed into the Pit River watershed in 1868. Formerly, Goose Lake was the regular source of the Pit River, but water diversion has caused the lake level to drop below its outlet. The Pit River's source is now south of Goose Lake, and the lake's salinity is increasing, threatening fish populations. During rare high water levels, Goose Lake still spills into the Pit River.
See also
* List of lakes in Oregon
This is a list of the lakes and reservoirs of Oregon.
Gallery
File:AbertRim-right.jpg, Lake Abert and the Abert Rim
File:Applegate Lake Oregon.jpg, Applegate Lake in Jackson County
File:Lake Billy Chinook, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon (p ...
* List of lakes in California
There are more than 3,000 named lakes, reservoirs, and dry lakes in the U.S. state of California.
Largest lakes
In terms of area covered, the largest lake in California is the Salton Sea, a lake formed in 1905 which is now saline. It occupi ...
References
Works cited
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goose Lake (Oregon-California)
Glacial lakes of the United States
Lakes of Modoc County, California
Lakes of Oregon
Lakes of the Great Basin
Lakes of Lake County, Oregon
Modoc Plateau
Pit River
Lakes of Northern California
Lakes of California