Lake Abert (also known as Abert Lake) is a large, shallow, alkali lake in Lake County,

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, United States. It is approximately long and wide at its widest point. It is located northeast of the small, unincorporated community of Valley Falls, Oregon. The lake was named in honor of Colonel

John James Abert John James Abert (17 September 1788 – 27 January 1863) was a United States soldier. He headed the Corps of Topographical Engineers for 32 years, during which time he organized the mapping of the American West. Abert was born in Shepherdstown ...

by explorer John C. Fremont during his 1843 expedition into

Central Oregon Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Other definitions include larger areas, often encompassing areas to the north towards ...

. No fish live in the alkaline waters of the lake; however, its dense population of

brine shrimp ''Artemia'' is a genus of aquatic crustaceans also known as brine shrimp. It is the only genus in the family Artemiidae. The first historical record of the existence of ''Artemia'' dates back to the first half of the 10th century AD from Urmia L ...

supports a variety of shorebirds. The lake is an important stop on the bird migration route known as the

Pacific flyway The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...

Ancient Lake Chewaucan

The arid land around Lake Abert was once lush. During the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

epoch, vast areas of south-central Oregon were covered by

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s and wetlands. As the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

was ending, rain and runoff from melting snow filled the lowlands throughout this region of the Great Basin, creating an immense freshwater lake called Lake Chewaucan. The lake covered at depths of up to .Deike, Ruth G. and Blair F. Jones
"Provenance, Distribution and Alteration of Volcanic Sediments in a Saline Alkaline Lake"
''Developments of Sedimentology'', vol. 28: Hypersaline Brines and Evaporitic Environments (A. Nissenbaum, editor), Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (distributed in the United States and Canada by Elsevier/North-Holland, Inc of New York), 1980.Bowker, Kimberly
"Salt of the Earth - At Lake Abert, beauty never smelled so bad"
, ''The Bulletin'', Bend, Oregon, 31 December 2009. Interpretive sign near Lake Abert, Oregon

Interpretive sign near Lake Abert, Oregon

Lake Chewaucan covered the Abert and Summer Lake basins for most of the late Pleistocene epoch. The last high water period occurred about 13,000 years ago. There is no archaeological evidence of human utilization of Lake Chewaucan during this time. The earliest evidence for possible human occupation of the basin comes from the

Paisley Caves The Paisley Caves or the Paisley Five Mile Point Caves complex is a system of eight caves in an arid, desolate region of south-central Oregon, United States north of the present-day city of Paisley, Oregon. The caves are located in the Summer La ...

, which were originally excavated by

Luther Cressman Luther Sheeleigh Cressman (October 24, 1897 – April 4, 1994) was an American field archaeologist, most widely known for his discoveries at Paleo-Indian sites such as Fort Rock Cave and Paisley Caves, sites related to the early settlement ...

in the late 1930s. Cressman found inconclusive evidence that humans could have begun an occupation of the area around 11,000 years ago. Further excavations of the site by Dennis Jenkins since 2002 have yielded evidence of occupation of the area as far back as 14,300 years ago. Lake Chewaucan began to dry up at the close of the Pleistocene epoch. As it shrank, salts and alkali were concentrated in its remaining waters, and the result was the formation of Lake Abert and Summer Lake. Today, the two lakes are apart and are the only remnants of Lake Chewaucan.Oregon topographic map
, United States Geological Survey, United States Department of Interior, Reston, Virginia; displayed via ACME mapper, ''www.acme.com'', 9 February 2010.

Lake environment

Lake Abert is an

endorheic An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...

body of water that occupies the eastern arm of

pluvial In geology and climatology, a pluvial is either a modern climate characterized by relatively high precipitation or an interval of time of variable length, decades to thousands of years, during which a climate is characterized by relatively high ...

Lake Chewaucan basin. The lake has an elongated triangular shape. It is approximately long and wide at the south end of the lake, growing to wide at the north end. In total, the lake covers approximately . Despite its size, the lake’s maximum depth is only . Its average depth is ."Abert Lake"
, ''World Lakes Database'', International Lake Environment Committee Foundation, Shiga, Japan, 1999. The east side of Lake Abert is bounded by

Abert Rim Abert Rim in Lake County, Oregon is one of the highest fault scarps in the United States. It rises above the valley floor, finishing with an sheer-sided basalt cap. It was formed during the Miocene epoch. At that time basaltic flood lavas cove ...

, a steep

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''esca ...

that rises over above the lake surface. The lake is bordered on the west by a long ridge called Coglan Buttes and on the north by the Coleman Hills. The lake's only year-around source of fresh water comes from the

Chewaucan River The Chewaucan River is part of the Great Basin drainage. It flows through the Fremont–Winema National Forests, Bureau of Land Management land, and private property in southern Oregon. Its watershed consists of of conifer forest, marsh, and ...

, which flows into the lake from the south. The Lake Abert drainage area covers . The environment in the Abert drainage basin is semi-arid. Most of the precipitation in the area occurs as snowfall during the winter months, and the Chewaucan River system is fed primarily by seasonal snowmelt. The lake’s only other source of fresh water is summer thundershowers that produce a small amount of runoff from Abert Rim. Because the lake has no outlet, it has developed a high concentration of sodium carbonates, common salt, and alkali in its water. Crystallized mineral crusts on rocks along the lakeshore can be several inches thick. Some mineral deposits are evident on boulders above the present lake surface.

Ecology

Fish cannot survive in the lake because of the high salinity and alkali content; consequently,

are abundant.Cain, Eric (producer)
"Abert Lake"
, ''Oregon Field Guide'' video (Episode 405), Oregon Public Broadcasting, Portland, Oregon, 1993. The lake provides an excellent habitat for various shore birds. It is one of Oregon’s few inland nesting sites for

snowy plover The snowy plover (''Charadrius nivosus'') is a small wader in the plover bird family, typically about 5-7" in length. It breeds in the southern and western United States, the Caribbean, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. Long considered to be a subspecie ...

s. The lake is also a stop on the Pacific flyway for many migrant bird species. During the annual migrations, it hosts tens of thousands of eared grebes,

Wilson's phalarope Wilson's phalarope (''Phalaropus tricolor'') is a small wader. This bird, the largest of the phalaropes, breeds in the prairies of North America in western Canada and the western United States. It is migratory, wintering in inland salt lakes ...

red-necked phalarope The red-necked phalarope (''Phalaropus lobatus''), also known as the northern phalarope and hyperborean phalarope, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a ...

American avocet The American avocet (''Recurvirostra americana'') is a large wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae, that is found in North America. It spends much of its time foraging in shallow water or on mud flats, often sweeping its bill ...

killdeer The killdeer (''Charadrius vociferus'') is a large plover found in the Americas. It was described and given its current scientific name in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Three subspecies are described. Th ...

, and

northern shoveler The northern shoveler (; ''Spatula clypeata''), known simply in Britain as the shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and across most of North America, wintering in southern E ...

black tern The black tern (''Chlidonias niger'') is a small tern generally found in or near inland water in Europe, Western Asia and North America. As its name suggests, it has predominantly dark plumage. In some lights it can appear blue in the breeding se ...

Forster's tern Forster's tern (''Sterna forsteri'') is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name ''Sterna'' is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and ''forsteri'' commemorates the naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster. It breeds inland in North America ...

s, American avocet, white-faced ibis,

Clark's grebe Clark's grebe (''Aechmophorus clarkii'') is a North American waterbird species in the grebe family. Until the 1980s, it was thought to be a pale Polymorphism (biology), morph of the western grebe, which it resembles in size, range, and behavior. ...

s, and black-necked stilts are common during the summer months.

Canada geese The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...

snow geese The snow goose (''Anser caerulescens'') is a species of goose native to North America. Both white and dark morphs exist, the latter often known as blue goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The species was previously placed ...

, Ross’ geese and many

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

species are also common. Bird counts have recorded over 20,000 ducks at the lake at one time. Over 12,000

ring-billed gull The ring-billed gull (''Larus delawarensis'') is a medium-sized gull. The genus name is from Latin ''Larus'' which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird. The specific ''delawarensis'' refers to the Delaware River. Description ...

s and

California gull The California gull (''Larus californicus'') is a medium-sized gull, smaller on average than the herring gull but larger on average than the ring-billed gull, though it may overlap in size greatly with both. Description Adults are similar in ap ...

s have been counted at the lake as well.Conte, Frank P. and Paul A. Conte
"Abundance and spatial distribution of Artemia salina in Lake Abert, Oregon"
''Hydrobiologia'' (Volume 158, Number 1), Springer Netherlands, New York, New York, January 1988, pp167-172."Lake Abert"
, Audubon Society of Portland, Portland, Oregon, 10 February 2010."Lake Abert"
, Basin and Range Birding Trail, Bureau of Land Management in cooperation with the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge and the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, Alturas, California, 10 February 2010.

Sage grouse Sage-grouse are grouse belonging to the bird genus ''Centrocercus.'' The genus includes two species: the Gunnison grouse (''Centrocercus minimus'') and the greater sage-grouse (''Centrocercus urophasianus''). These birds are distributed throug ...

and

burrowing owl The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or an ...

s are found near the lake, and bald eagles,

ferruginous hawk The ferruginous hawk, (''Buteo regalis''), is a large bird of prey and belongs to the broad-winged buteo hawks. An old colloquial name is ferrugineous rough-leg, due to its similarity to the closely related rough-legged hawk (''B. lagopus''). ...

s, and peregrine falcons hunt in the Lake Abert area."Rangeland Health Assessment West Lake #424"
, Lakeview District, Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of Interior, Lakeview, Oregon, 12 August 1997.

History

Lake Abert was home to a series of prehistoric cultures that left behind an array of

archaeological sites An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and ...

along the east shore of the lake. Stone house rings that are numerous in the area are not found elsewhere on the Great Basin. The first written record of the lake was made by John Work, the leader of a

Hudson’s Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

fur trapping expedition. Work recorded his party’s visit in his journal on 16 October 1832. In his journal, Work called it ''Salt Lake''. Work’s journal also implies that other trappers may have been to the lake before his expedition.McArthur, Lewis A. and Lewis L. McArthur, "Lake Abert", Oregon Geographic Names (Seventh Edition), Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland, Oregon, 2003, p. 552.Brogan, Phil F., ''East of the Cascades'' (Third Edition), Binford & Mort, Portland, Oregon, 1965, p. 38. Lieutenant John C. Fremont named Lake Abert during his 1843 mapping expedition through central and southern Oregon. Fremont and his Army

topographical Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

team were mapping the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. O ...

from

The Dalles The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermiston ...

on Columbia River to Sutter's Fort in the Sacramento Valley of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Fremont named the lake in honor of Colonel John James Abert, who was chief of the Army's

Corps of Topographical Engineers The U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers was a branch of the United States Army authorized on 4 July 1838. It consisted only of officers who were handpicked from West Point and was used for mapping and the design and construction of federal ...

. On 20 December 1843, Fremont described the discovery and naming of Lake Abert as follows: In 1986, there was a large

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

that burned along the west side of the lake. After the fire, along the shoreline were seeded with a Eurasian species, crested wheatgrass. The remaining acres were left to natural restoration.

Human activity

Today, the Bureau of Land Management is responsible for Lake Abert and its surrounding land. There is one grazing allotment that borders the southwest shoreline of the lake, covering of Bureau of Land Management land. The area is semi-arid with

bluebunch wheatgrass ''Pseudoroegneria spicata'' is a species of grass known by the common name bluebunch wheatgrass. This native western North American perennial bunchgrass is also known by the scientific synonyms ''Elymus spicatus'' and ''Agropyron spicatum''. The g ...

cheatgrass ''Bromus tectorum'', known as downy brome, drooping brome or cheatgrass, is a winter annual grass native to Europe, southwestern Asia, and northern Africa, but has become invasive in many other areas. It now is present in most of Europe, southe ...

, and big sagebrush as the primary vegetation. A 1997 study showed that the grazing practices on the allotment conformed to Federal and state standards. Because of the lake’s extreme alkalinity, there are no recreational activities that occur on the lake, although kayakers occasionally paddle on the lake. Swimming or extended contact with the lake’s water would be harmful to humans. There are no developed campgrounds at Lake Abert, but the Bureau of Land Management does allow dispersed camping in the area. The only common recreational activity at Lake Abert is

bird watching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

. A small brine shrimp collection enterprise on Lake Abert was begun in 1979. The brine shrimp’s high tolerance for salinity and ability to withstand freezing temperatures during the winter make brine shrimp the lake’s only residents. While the brine shrimp harvest from the lake is relatively small, the impact of harvest has never been studied."About our Company"
, Oregon Desert Brine Shrimp, ''www.oregondesertbrineshrimp.com'', Valley Falls, Oregon, 10 February 2010.

Location

Lake Abert is located in Lake County in south-central Oregon. The lake is north of

Lakeview, Oregon Lakeview is a town in Lake County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,418 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lake County. The city bills itself as the "Tallest Town in Oregon" because of its elevation, above sea level. ...

, on

U.S. Route 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...

. The highway runs along the east shore of the lake for approximately . There are several interpretive signs at highway turn-offs overlooking the lake. Lake Abert is approximately southwest of Burns, Oregon, also on Highway 395.

References

External links

''Lake Abert''
program on

Oregon Field Guide ''Oregon Field Guide'' is a weekly television program produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting focusing on recreation, the outdoors, and environmental issues in the state of Oregon. The show has become part of the Oregon zeitgeist. Steve Amen is th ...

Lake Abert Dries Up
Video produced by

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abert, Lake Lakes of Oregon Lakes of Lake County, Oregon Endorheic lakes of Oregon Paleo-Indian archaeological sites in the United States