Cropley Lake Explained

Cropley Lake
Location:Juneau, Alaska, United States
Coords:58.2636°N -134.5247°W
Basin Countries:United States
Elevation:553m (1,814feet)
Pushpin Map:Alaska#North America
Pushpin Map Alt:Location of Cropley Lake in Alaska, USA.

Cropley Lake is an alpine lake in the Juneau, Alaska, United States. Located on Douglas Island, it is 2miles southwest of Table Top Mountain, and 5miles southwest of the city of Juneau. Cropley Lake is the source of Fish Creek.

History

It is named after Isaac Cropley, a miner who worked in the Juneau area from around 1887 until his death in 1913.[1]

In 1975, the Juneau Lions Club built a trail from the Eaglecrest Ski Area to the lake. It was used actively for about ten years, but a lack of maintenance cause the trail to become overgrown.[2] The trail was between 1.5miles2miles long.[3] [4] On June 7, 2010, the Juneau Assembly was to appropriate a $133,180 grant from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources to fund improvements to a nearby trail from the Eaglecrest lodge to a bridge over Fish Creek. Excess funds were to be used to build a new trail to Cropley Lake.[5] Planned improvements to the Eaglecrest Ski Area include a day-use cabin at Cropley Lake.[6] In the 1990s, the ski area used about 218000gal of water from the lake every day and a total of about 79574000gal per year. The water is used for hydroelectric power generation.[7]

Skiers have had some close run-ins with avalanches near the lake, including in 1987 and on March 1, 2001.[8]

Wildlife and climate

Just below the lake there is a barrier to prevent upstream fish movement.[9] Between June 26 and 27, 2010, Juneau-area scientists conducted a two-day wildlife survey of the Cropley Lake/Fish Creek drainage area. Dolly Varden trout has been noted residing in the lake.[10] [11] [12] The fish in the lake are small, ranging from 6inchesto10inchesin (toin).[13] A single Clark's nutcracker was seen at the lake on July 5, 1975.[14]

Cropley Lake is located in a cirque. The soil around the shores of the lake consists mainly of muskeg covering till (glacial sediment) above bedrock. Trees on the shore are up to about 400 years old. The lake is naturally dammed but also has two small man-made dams to raise its level.[15]

Notes and References

  1. DeArmond, Robert. Some Names Around Juneau. Sitka Press. 1957.
  2. Kelley, Tim. Juneau Lions Club - Cropley Lake Trail. Alaska Lost Ski Areas Project. Accessed July 11, 2010.
  3. DuFresne, Jim. Alaska: A Travel Survival Kit. Lonely Planet. 1994.
  4. Barrett, Pam. Alaska. Insight Guides, Langenscheidt. 2002.
  5. http://www.kinyradio.com/juneaunews/archives/week_of_06-07-10/juneau_news_06-07-10.html Juneau Daily News Latest Edition
  6. Web site: Eaglecrest receives financial windfall . Marquis, Kim . December 12, 2007 . . July 11, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110811203213/http://juneauempire.com/stories/121207/loc_20071212023.shtml . August 11, 2011 . dead .
  7. Ireland, Roy, and Mauer, Mary A. Web site: Summary of Reported Water-Use Data in Alaska, 1994 .   Alaska Department of Natural Resources. December 1995. Accessed July 11, 2010.
  8. Web site: Two escape white death . Chandonnet, Ann . March 2, 2001 . . July 11, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091202204750/http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/030201/Loc_WhiteDeath.html . December 2, 2009 . dead .
  9. Bethers, Mike; Munk, Kris; and Seifert, Cheryl. Juneau Fish Habitat Assessment. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. 1995.
  10. Web site: BioBlitz: Celebrate, explore nature . Woodford, Riley . June 11, 2010 . . July 11, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101217141712/http://juneauempire.com/stories/061110/out_652208508.shtml . December 17, 2010 . dead .
  11. Web site: BioBlitz Southeast Alaska . 2010-07-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110721032249/http://winfonet.alaska.gov/internet/downloads/bioblitz_2010_schedule.pdf . 2011-07-21 . dead .   Accessed July 11, 2010.
  12. Web site: Checking out the wildlife at Cropley Lake . Willson, Mary . November 2, 2008 . . July 11, 2010.
  13. http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/FishingReports/index.cfm/FA/R1.summary/Area_key/4/RecordID/67 Juneau Area Fishing Report
  14. Erwin, Carol. [alaskabirds-l] addendum to Clark's Nutcracker posting . University of Alaska Fairbanks alaskabirds mailing list. August 22, 2002. Accessed July 11, 2010.
  15. Miller, Robert D. Web site: Surficial Geology of the Juneau Urban Area and Vicinity, Alaska . 2010-07-11 . 2011-07-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110721032325/http://www.dggs.alaska.gov/webpubs/usgs/of/text/of72-0255.PDF . dead .   United States Department of the Interior. 1972. Accessed July 11, 2010.

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