Castle Lake (Siskiyou County, California)

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Castle Lake
Castlelake 3.jpg
The lake with Mount Shasta in the background
Geographical location Siskiyou County , California , United States
Drain Castle Lake Creek
Data
Coordinates 41 ° 13 '39 "  N , 122 ° 23' 1"  W Coordinates: 41 ° 13 '39 "  N , 122 ° 23' 1"  W
Castle Lake (Siskiyou County, California) (California)
Castle Lake (Siskiyou County, California)
Altitude above sea level 1659  m
surface 19 hectaresdep1
Maximum depth 33 m
Template: Infobox Lake / Maintenance / EVIDENCE AREA Template: Infobox Lake / Maintenance / EVIDENCE MAX DEPTH

The Castle Lake is a glacial lake in the Siskiyou Mountains in the north of the State of California . It is located in Siskiyou County near Mount Shasta . The lake drains via Castle Lake Creek into Lake Siskiyou , which belongs to the catchment area of the Upper Sacramento River .

The Shasta-Trinity National Forest contains almost the entire lake area of ​​about 19 hectares , with the exception of about one hectare. Hiking trails lead from the lake to Castle Crags State Park , as well as Little Castle Lake and Heart Lake .

The lake and its surroundings are home to a wide variety of animal species such as trout, bears, deer, otters, frogs and herons. The area is also known for its alpine flowers that bloom in early summer. These include the columbines -Varietät Aquilegia formosa var. Truncata , erythronium ( Erythronium sp. ) And the barb -Art Penstemon laetus .

At Castle Lake there is a research station belonging to the University of California, Davis , where courses in limnology are also conducted in collaboration with the University of Nevada, Reno .

The predominant rock at Castle Lake and in the Siskiyou Mountains surrounding it is granite , which is also reflected in the clarity of the lake water.

Formation of the lake

Castle Lake with the Karrückwand on the right and the Karschwelle with terminal moraine on the left.

The lake's origins go back more than ten thousand years ago to the Pleistocene , when a glacier carved out a basin at the site of today's lake. During that time, most of North America was glaciated. Castle Lake is a typical glacial cirque and reaches depths of up to 33 m at the southern end of the lake. At the northeast end is a terminal moraine , which is made up of boulders and rubble and forms a natural dam. This is where the outflow of the lake is located and the water depth at this end is between 3 and 5 m.

The cirque on which Castle Lake is located is a typical cirque in the northern hemisphere . The Karrückwand at the point of the mountain where the glacier began to form was located to the south or southwest and the northeastern flank of the mountain was on the leeward side. This created an area protected from direct sunlight and wind, which meant that snow that had fallen in winter did not melt away during summer. This process is called accumulation . At the beginning of the glaciation, this year-round snow cover increased and turned into firn . Due to the incline, the ice masses slowly flowed down to the valley, with the mountain flanks being increasingly worn down due to the alternation of thaw and frost as well as glacial erosion.

Formation of a glacial cirque.

When this trough widened and filled with snow and ice, the rubble also got under the glacier. This started the abrasion of the rock under the flowing ice masses, whereby this rubble acted like sandpaper on the rock below. Eventually the valley took on the shape of a bowl and the effects of freezing and thawing as well as the erosion caused by the breaking out of boulders made this basin deeper and deeper, especially at the upper end of the cirque due to the greater slope and thickness of the ice.

With the beginning of today's warm period, the glacier retreated and ultimately melted completely. It left a bowl-shaped depression, the greatest depth of which is at the top, where the ice had been most abrasive. This depression extended to the northeastern edge, where a terminal moraine of small rocks and debris left by the glacier had formed. Over time, the depression filled with water that was dammed up by the terminal moraine like a natural dam and thus formed the Karsee.

history

Castle Lake was in the settlement area of ​​the Okwanuchu tribe , who belonged to the smaller Indian tribes of the Shasta language group and were closely related to the Shasta . Among other things, they settled around Mount Shasta and the canyon of the upper Sacramento River. Archaeological finds suggest a settlement around 3000 BC. Around the year 800, the members of the met Penutian language family belonging Wintu and began to displace the Okwanuchu. It is unclear which tribe populated the area around Castle Lake when the first whites arrived around 1820. Information on Aboriginal views of the lake is sparse; the lake is not mentioned in the published collections of legends.

The first Europeans to come to the Castle Lake area were between 1820 and 1830 hunters and trappers from the Hudson's Bay Company , who came to Mexican-controlled California via the Siskiyou Trail from what is now Washington state . Around the same time, Ewing Young led the first American settlers past the Siskiyou Trail near Castle Lake. In 1841, scientists and cartographers from the United States Exploring Expedition explored the area. Following the annexation of California as a result of the Mexican-American War , Castle Lake came under federal control as public land.

In 1855 there was a battle not far from the lake between Indians and settlers who had been drawn to the area by the California gold rush . The writer Joaquin Miller , who had taken part in the fight himself and was wounded by an arrow in the cheek, wrote the report The Battle of Castle Crags about it . The fight is considered to be the last clash between Indians and settlers, which on the Indian side was only fought with a bow and arrow.

With the establishment of the National Forest Service in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the lake came under the administration of the US Forest Service . In 1957 the University of California, Davis began its first research and later the limnological research station was established.

fauna

Several species of freshwater fish were introduced into the lake by humans during the 1930s to promote sport fishing . Rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) are reintroduced every year by the California Department of Fish and Game , while the brook trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis ) has developed a reproductive population. The whitefish Notemigonus crysoliecas is a bait fish that was probably introduced by anglers and can breed in the springs on the east side of the lake. The fish in the lake feed mainly on zooplankton and insects and are themselves eaten as part of the food chain, especially by the ospreys ( Pandion haliaetus ), which have their nests and waiting around the lake , or by the belt fishermen ( Megaceryle alcyon ).

Other species of birds visit the lake in search of food are bald eagle ( Haliaectus leucoephalus ), golden eagle ( Aquila chrysaetos ), peregrine falcon ( Falco peregrinus ), wood ducks ( Aix sponsa ), Steller ( Cyanocitta stellere ) and a kind of dusky grouse ( Dendragapus fuliginosus ).

The reptiles and amphibians in and around the lake include the rough-skinned yellow-bellied newt ( Taricha granulosa ), the American cascade frog ( Rana cascadae ) and the common garter snake ( Thamnophis sirtalis ); these feed on both insects and fry.

The lake and its surroundings live different species of mammals , including the American black bear ( Ursus americanus ), the mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ), the North American river otter ( Lutra canadensis ) and the black-tailed jackrabbit ( Lepus californicus ).

flora

Beautiful Columbine ( Aquilegia formosa var. Truncata ) by Castle Lake

Although the lake is at an altitude of 1659 m and its surroundings are well below the tree line , which is around 2400 m in the area, the surroundings of the lake are often different due to the granite that is often present. It ranges from dense mixed forest to almost alpine vegetation.

The forest at and below the lake is mainly composed of yellow pine ( Pinus ponderosa ), Pracht-fir ( Abies magnifica ), Colorado fir ( Abies concolor ,) lodgepole pine ( Pinus Contorda ) calocedrus ( Calocedrus decurrens ) and alder mixed . These in particular play an important role in the ecosystem around Castle Lake, because they form a symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing Actinobacteriae ( Frankiella alni ). This strain of bacteria converts the nitrogen in the air into nitrates , which are absorbed by the alders. This generally makes the soil more fertile because the leaves of the trees form a nutrient-rich compost .

Above the lake, the conifers gradually thin out and the trees grow rather crippled. As a result, bushes such as Green Manzanita ( Arctostaphylos patula ), Dwarf Mountain Manzanita ( Arctostaphylos neuadensis ) and Tan Oak ( Lithocarpus densiflorus ) find areas to grow.

The early summer flower meadows on the lakeshore and nearby consist mainly of bare-fruited cinnamon roses ( Rosa gymnocarpa ), Shasta lupine ( Lupinus albicaulis ), beautiful columbines ( Aquilegia formosa var.truncata ), panther lilies ( Lilium pardalinum ), fawn lily ( Erythronium sp. ), Pine-drops ( Pterospora andromedae ) to the Spier shrubs belonging douglasii Spiraea , various types Castilleja - Scarlet Paintbrush ( Castilleja pinetorum ), Alpine Paintbrush ( Castilleja arachnoid ), Dwarf Paintbrush ( Castilleja miniata ) - Alpine Saxifrage ( Saxifraga nidifica ), Shasta Pentstemon ( Pentstemon laetus ), Alpine Buckwheat ( Eriogonum pyrolaefolium ) and Tofield's Swamp Lily ( Tofieldia occidentalis ). Occasional carnivorous cobra lilies ( Darlingtonia californica ) thrive in cool, damp places near the lake .

literature

  • Ann Bowen, John Pallister and A. Bowe: Advanced Geography for AQA Specification A . Heinemann Educational Publishers, Oxford, 2001 ISBN 0-435-35282-2

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ USFS website , accessed February 3, 2008
  2. ↑ Wilderness Area site , accessed on February 3, 2008 (English, PDF)
  3. ^ A b University of California at Davis. Castle Lake Limnological Research Station. Birds ( Memento of the original from October 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 24, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / castlelake.ucdavis.edu
  4. ↑ a b c d University of California at Davis. Castle Lake Limnological Research Station. Flora ( Memento of the original from October 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed April 24, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / castlelake.ucdavis.edu
  5. ↑ a b Castle Lake Limnological Research Station ( Memento of the original from September 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed April 24, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / castlelake.ucdavis.edu
  6. ↑ Map of the tribal areas in California (based on Alfred Kroeber) , accessed on April 24, 2008 (English)
  7. ↑ The English language Wikipedia has an article on the Shastan languages
  8. ^ AL Kroeber: Handbook of the Indians of California . Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 1925. (Dover Publications (New York) Reprint, ISBN 0-486-23368-5 , p. 284)
  9. ↑ Christopher Chase, Kelly M. Mann: The Wintu and their neighbors: A very small world-system in northern California . U. of Arizona Press, Tucson 1998, ISBN 0-8165-1800-9 , pp. 81.
  10. ↑ Craig G. Ballenger: Shasta's headwaters . Frank Amato Publications, Portland, OR 1998, ISBN 1-57188-136-0 , pp. P. 16.
  11. ^ Marcelle Masson: A bag of bones: Legends of the Wintu Indians of northern California . Naturgraph Publishers, Happy Camp, CA 1966, ISBN 0-911010-26-2 .
  12. ^ Richard H Dillon: Siskiyou Trail: The Hudson's Bay Company route to California . McGraw-Hill, New York 1975, ISBN 0-07-016980-2 , pp. 171.
  13. ↑ Kenneth L. Holmes: Ewing Young - Master trapper . Binford & Mort Publishing, Eugene, OR 1967, ISBN 0-8323-0061-6 , pp. P. 132.
  14. ↑ Text of US Ex. Ex. Passage near Castle Lake , accessed April 24, 2008.
  15. ↑ Siskiyou history site ( Memento of the original from July 15, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 21, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.siskiyouhistory.org
  16. ↑ Joaquin Miller: Alan Rosenus (ed.): Selected writings of Joaquin Miller (1977 ed.) . Union Press, Eugene, OR 1892, ISBN 0-913522-05-8 .
  17. ^ University of California at Davis. Castle Lake Limnological Research Station. Fish ( Memento of the original from October 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 24, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / castlelake.ucdavis.edu
  18. ^ Louise Kellogg: A collection of winter birds from Trinity and Shasta Counties, California . In: Condor . 13, No. 4, 1911, pp. 118-121. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  19. ^ University of California at Davis. Castle Lake Limnological Research Station. Reptiles ( Memento of the original from October 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 24, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / castlelake.ucdavis.edu
  20. ^ University of California at Davis. Castle Lake Limnological Research Station. Mammals ( Memento of the original from October 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 24, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / castlelake.ucdavis.edu
  21. ↑ Castle Lake in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
  22. ↑ Mount Shasta - Avalanche Gulch & Hotlum-Wintun Ridge Climbing Routes ( English ) Mountainweb.com. Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  23. ^ Trees ( English ) Castle Lake Limnological Research Station. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 20, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / castlelake.ucdavis.edu
  24. ↑ Wildflowers ( English ) Castle Lake Limnological Research Station. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 20, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / castlelake.ucdavis.edu
  25. ↑ Species List by Scientific Name ( English ) www.shastawildflowers.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2008. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 20, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.shastawildflowers.com
  26. ↑ Pitcher Plants ( English ) Castle Lake Limnological Research Station. Archived from the original on 13 June 2010. Information: The archive link is automatically inserted and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 20, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / castlelake.ucdavis.edu

Web links

Commons : Castle Lake  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files