Jump to content

Tule Lake

Coordinates: 41°54′34″N 121°31′59″W / 41.90932°N 121.53305°W / 41.90932; -121.53305
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Minidoka11 (talk | contribs) at 14:47, 12 March 2022 (Added white descriptor to veterans who were awarded in the land lottery). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Tule Lake
Overview of the Tule Lake Basin
Location of Tule Lake in California, USA.
Location of Tule Lake in California, USA.
Tule Lake
Location of Tule Lake in California, USA.
Location of Tule Lake in California, USA.
Tule Lake
LocationSiskiyou / Modoc Counties, California, United States
Coordinates41°54′34″N 121°31′59″W / 41.90932°N 121.53305°W / 41.90932; -121.53305[1]
TypeAncient lake, Intermittent lake
Primary inflowsLost River
Max. length8.0 km (5.0 mi)
Max. width4.8 km (3.0 mi)
Surface area13,000 acres (5,300 ha)
Surface elevation4,035 ft (1,230 m)

Tule Lake (/ˈtl/ TOO-lee)[2] is an intermittent lake covering an area of 13,000 acres (53 km2), 8.0 km (5.0 mi) long and 4.8 km (3.0 mi) across,[1] in northeastern Siskiyou County and northwestern Modoc County in California, along the border with Oregon.

Geography

Tule Lake is fed by the Lost River. The elevation of the lake is 4,035 ft (1,230 m).[1]

It is one of twenty ancient lakes in the world that have existed continuously for more than 1 million years.[3]

Tule Lake is located 2.4 km (1.5 mi),[1] southwest of the town of Tulelake in Northern California.

Wildlife and water

The lake is part of the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge and the Klamath Project. Deliveries of water from the Klamath Project have saved wildlife such as ducks. For example, on 24 July 2020, a delivery of water from the Klamath Project saved 50,000 ducklings from death.[4]

History

Canby's Cross is located about 3 mi (4.8 km) south of the lake; it is the site where General Edward Canby was killed by the Modoc chief Kintpuash, also known to American settlers as Captain Jack.

During World War II, the United States federal government under Executive Order 9066, forced the evacuation of Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans, including citizens born in the United States, to numerous camps built in the interior of California and inland states. They were forced to sell their businesses and homes, and suffered enormous economic and psychological losses by being treated as potential enemies. The Tule Lake War Relocation Center, a Japanese American internment camp, is located east of the lake, in Modoc County. Following World War II, the federal government awarded 86 farm sites on land reclaimed by the drainage of Tule Lake to returning white veterans using a land lottery.[5] A lottery was used because the number of applicants was greater than the number of homesteads available.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Tule Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved Jan 11, 2021.
  2. ^ pronunciation Tule Lake, OxfordDictionaries.com
  3. ^ "Archived copy". marine.rutgers.edu. Archived from the original on 9 February 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Klamath water arrives, saving 50,000 ducklings from certain death". SFChronicle.com. 2020-07-24. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  5. ^ "Veterans Win Farms at Tule Lake Lottery," Life, 22:73-74, January 20, 1947, referenced in H W Martin and C A McMahan, 'Land Distribution in Georgia, The Southwestern Social Science Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 1 (June 1952), pp. 44-51
  6. ^ Klamath Project, "The Klamath Project at 100: Conserving our Resources, Preserving our Heritage" [1] accessed 3 July 2015