Alkali Lake (Oregon)
Alkali Lake | |
---|---|
Location | Lake County, Oregon |
Coordinates | 42°58′38″N 120°01′41″W / 42.97722°N 120.02806°W |
Lake type | seasonal, alkali |
Basin countries | United States |
Surface elevation | 4,332 ft (1,320 m) |
Alkali Lake is a geographic sink in Lake County, Oregon, United States. It is in the Alkali Subbasin of the Summer Lake Basin watershed in southeastern Oregon,[1] located 26 miles east of Christmas Valley, Oregon, northeast of Lake Abert,[2] to the immediate west of Abert Rim and Highway 395.
Alkali Lake is thought to have reached a prehistoric maximum depth of 270.7 feet (82.5 meters) and covered about 1,448.4 square miles (3,751 square kilometers). Since then, its water level has varied, with a drying trend.[1] Notable features include dissolved alkaline salts averaging 10% of total brine weight in its seasonal waters[2] and a nearby chemical disaster, Alkali Lake Chemical Waste Dump.
Plants[edit]
Plants known to occur in the dunes immediately north of the lake include:[3]
- Buckwheat Family
- Goosefoot Family
- Mustard Family
- Evening-primrose family
- Parsley Family
- Phlox Family
- Borage Family
- Sunflower Family
Climate[edit]
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Alkali Lake has a steppe climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.
Climate data for Alkali Lake | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 63 (17) | 72 (22) | 78 (26) | 88 (31) | 97 (36) | 100 (38) | 108 (42) | 105 (41) | 101 (38) | 90 (32) | 75 (24) | 69 (21) | 108 (42) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 42.2 (5.7) | 46.1 (7.8) | 51.2 (10.7) | 59.1 (15.1) | 69.1 (20.6) | 77.9 (25.5) | 87.7 (30.9) | 86.4 (30.2) | 78.1 (25.6) | 65.8 (18.8) | 49.9 (9.9) | 41.9 (5.5) | 63 (17) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 19.2 (−7.1) | 22.5 (−5.3) | 25.1 (−3.8) | 28.7 (−1.8) | 35 (2) | 42.2 (5.7) | 46.8 (8.2) | 45.5 (7.5) | 37.1 (2.8) | 29.6 (−1.3) | 24.4 (−4.2) | 18.8 (−7.3) | 31.2 (−0.4) |
Record low °F (°C) | −38 (−39) | −26 (−32) | −11 (−24) | 6 (−14) | 4 (−16) | 23 (−5) | 30 (−1) | 26 (−3) | 14 (−10) | −2 (−19) | −10 (−23) | −33 (−36) | −38 (−39) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.61 (15) | 0.54 (14) | 0.77 (20) | 0.84 (21) | 1.22 (31) | 1 (25) | 0.48 (12) | 0.64 (16) | 0.48 (12) | 0.69 (18) | 0.73 (19) | 0.66 (17) | 8.65 (220) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 2.9 (7.4) | 1.8 (4.6) | 1.8 (4.6) | 1.4 (3.6) | 0.5 (1.3) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.2 (0.51) | 2 (5.1) | 3.8 (9.7) | 14.4 (37) |
Average precipitation days | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 58 |
Source: [4] |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b US Fish & Wildlife Service website
- ^ a b McArthur, p. 10
- ^ "Alkali Lake: 6/24/2003".
- ^ "ALKALI LAKE, OR (350118)". Western Regional Climate Center. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
Works cited[edit]
- McArthur, Lewis A. Oregon Geographic Names, Fourth ed. 1974. Edwards Brothers. Ann Arbor, MI
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Field Office