Isa Lake
Isa Lake | |
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Location | Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming |
Coordinates | 44°26′27″N 110°43′09″W / 44.44083°N 110.71917°W[1] |
Type | Natural lake |
Basin countries | United States |
Surface elevation | 8,297 feet (2,529 m)[2] |
Isa Lake is located in Yellowstone National Park, in the U. S. state of Wyoming.[3] The lake straddles the continental divide at Craig Pass and was first discovered in 1891 by Hiram M. Chittenden, who was exploring the best routes for a road to connect Old Faithful and West Thumb geyser basins. Chittenden named the lake after Isabel Jelke, though it is not clear why.[4]
Isa Lake is believed to be the only lake in the world which drains to two different oceans backwards.[4] The east side of the lake drains by way of the Lewis River to the Pacific Ocean and the west side of the lake drains by way of the Firehole River to the Atlantic Ocean.[5] This is the opposite of what one would expect since the Atlantic Ocean is east of the lake and the Pacific Ocean is to the west.
The lake is easy to visit as it is adjacent to the road that now connects the Old Faithful and West Thumb geysers basins, on what is know as the "lower loop" of the figure-eight roadway which traverses through Yellowstone.
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Isa Lake, 1921
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Isa Lake on Craig Pass Road
Notes
- ^ "Isa Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Craig Pass, USGS Craig Pass (WY) Topo Map" (Map). TopoQuest USGS Quads. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
- ^ a b "Isa Lake". Grant Village Area Natural Highlights. National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
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(help) - ^ "Isa Lake". Wyomingtourism.org. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
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