Alkali Lake (Oregon) Explained

Alkali Lake
Location:	Lake County, Oregon
Coords:	42.9772°N -120.0281°W
Lake Type:	seasonal, alkali
Basin Countries:	United States
Elevation:	4332feet
Pushpin Map:	USA Oregon
Pushpin Map Alt:	Location of lake in Oregon

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 270.7abbr=offNaNabbr=off and covered about 1448.4abbr=offNaNabbr=off. 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

Plants known to occur in the dunes immediately north of the lake include:^[3]

• Buckwheat Family
  • Broom Buckwheat
• Goosefoot Family
  • Spiny Hopsage
• Mustard Family
  • Stanleya or Guillenia sp.
• Evening-primrose family
  • Desert Evening-primrose
• Parsley Family
  • Rhysopterus plurijugus
• Phlox Family
  • Great Basin Gilia
• Borage Family
  • Matted Cryptantha
• Sunflower Family
  • Desert Pincushion
  • Gray Rabbitbrush
  • Showy Townsend Daisy

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Alkali Lake has a steppe climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

See also

• Alkali Lake State Airport

Works cited

• McArthur, Lewis A. Oregon Geographic Names, Fourth ed. 1974. Edwards Brothers. Ann Arbor, MI
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Field Office

Notes and References

1. US Fish & Wildlife Service website
2. McArthur, p. 10
3. Web site: Alkali Lake: 6/24/2003.