Talk:Goose Lake (Oregon–California)

Fishing

Fishing is allowed in the park according to the external link provided below: http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_1.php, which is same as the link provided on the main page of the article. --Andy123 08:33, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

That there is not much fishing at Goose Lake was my understanding based on conversations with a few locals (from Alturas). I just put a call in to the park service seeking clarification. I'll update the page when I get more info. Jyoshimi 21:29, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

Fishing in the park is stream fishing, because the park is located on Pine Creek, where it crosses the railroad tracks.

Forget fishing in the lake; aside from a few alluvial fans at the mouths of streams, there is no water. From my personal observation, Goose Lake went completely dry again some time between September and November of this year, (2009). I have pictures from both of these trips. Breathing was a nasty, alkaline experience in Lakeview, OR.

Thank you, to who ever found a way to better incorporate the picture I uploaded. Downstrike (talk) 11:08, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

Link to historic church

I'm not sure how best to incorporate this (perhaps a quote), but this link contains interesting history of a church near Goose Lake, and baptisms performed there: http://ncbible.org/nwh/OrLake.html Jyoshimi 21:39, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

I suspect the New Pine Creek page would be a more relevant place for this information; it definitely needs something: New Pine Creek, Oregon. Downstrike (talk) 12:03, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

Boating

Wasn't there a large paddle boat of some sort that plied the lake? I think there may even be a left over hulk of it? ChildofMidnight (talk) 05:46, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

Quite a number of ferries, cargo, and excursion craft sailed Goose Lake at various times between the 1920s and 1940s. Downstrike (talk) 12:43, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

The boat ChildofMidnight is thinking about is the one located in the field owned by rancher Bud Garret. The lake evaporated and left it high and dry. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.160.99.212 (talk) 17:52, 8 November 2014 (UTC)

Walker Lane

This Goose Lake seems to be rather isolated from the region described as Walker Lane. Isn't the Goose Lake associated with Walker Lane more likely to be the one near Fallon, NV? If Walker Lane does indeed extend this far north, Surprise Valley seems to be a much more likely candidate, as it much more of a geological trough, and is associated with an eastern escarpment, while Goose Lake Valley is not. Downstrike (talk) 11:43, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

The USGS says that Walker Lane extends into south-central Oregon.[1] But from the topography, Surprise Valley does look a lot more likely to be part of it than this Goose Lake. I'll reply about the other Goose Lake at Talk:Walker Lane. -- Avenue (talk) 14:50, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

Source of Pit River

Other sources claim that Goose Lake has not spilled into North Fork Pit River since 1881:

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/ONFSR/final/08-redband-trout/rb-methods-goose-lake.pdf

http://www.nativetroutflyfishing.com/gooselakeredband.htm

Meanwhile, the assertions of the Pit River Watershed Alliance seem self-contradictory; that Goose Lake is both an enclosed basin, and the source of the Pit River. It does say that Goose Lake flows into Pit River during rare peak water levels, but how rare is rare? If the meat I eat were this rare, it would still be cold, because 128 years seems to fall within the range of, "not during the lifetime of anyone still alive". Downstrike (talk) 12:43, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

The USGS originally defined Goose Lake as part of the Sacramento River drainage basin, via the Pit River, but in its most recent and meticulous watershed delineation work, the Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD), it defined Goose Lake as a closed basin. About to add something to that effect on the page. The WBD is only a year or two old, so info from it is not yet readily available online in a simple to access form. Given the slowness it takes federal agencies to update online info and take down older obsolete stats, it may take years! Downloading and viewing the WBD's Goose Lake data is not as easy as a simple click--it takes a bit of work, but no more, I reckon, than it would take to locate, acquire, and read any esoteric reference source that isn't online, like an old book. Note of course that the USGS is not the final authority on matters like this, but they are an authority, and a rather well respected one. Pfly (talk) 07:04, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

At the present time Dry Creek is the northernmost tributary of the North Fork of the Pit River. The last time Goose Lake emptied into the Pit was apparently 1881, but it was during high wind. The center of Goose Valley is prone to high winds tracking north and south during the day especially, as any local roofer is aware. Since Goose Lake has dried up at various times during the historic record, no one knows exactly when it emptied south routinely as part of the Sacramento watershed, which would make Thomas Creek the Pit River's northernmost tributary. Geologically, however, all of Goose Valley and its watershed are part of the Sacramento watershed, since the excess water would load into the Pit if the supply was great enough, unlike the various local basins of the Great Basin, such as the Chewaucan basin, which would eventuate into a large and deep inland sea.Euonyman (talk) 21:42, 29 June 2013 (UTC)

Perhaps someone can add information about the contribution (or lack thereof) of agricultural run-off to the lake.PhiloFaster (talk) 16:24, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

So much water is contained in a number of large—Drews Reservoir, Dog Lake—and small impoundments—many designed as livestock tanks—scattered all over the Goose Valley watershed that the historic maxima of drainage will likely never be reached. A canal proceeding from Drews Reservoir is, or was, widely used for agriculture. Since Goose Valley soil is of a mixed type with large sections of hardpan that does not percolate, runoff to the Lake would be possible, but these tracts are not valuable for agriculture, and only those soils that will percolate sustain agriculture.Euonyman (talk) 21:58, 29 June 2013 (UTC)

Glacial lake?

At first glance, this would appear to be a desert basin lake, not a glacial lake. Seems very odd. Can someone reference that? Otherwise its been removed. Famartin (talk) 15:54, 8 November 2014 (UTC)

Hopefully my edits cleared up the confusion. Glaciation contributed to the lake's formation thousands of years ago, but now it's in an arid basin. Jsayre64 (talk) 00:28, 9 November 2014 (UTC)

48-site campground

What is a "48-site campground"? ICE77 (talk) 20:57, 28 June 2020 (UTC)

Drying up

https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/California-Oregon-border-town-Lakeview-hot-springs-16548720.php

-- John Broughton (♫♫) 00:17, 28 October 2021 (UTC)