Harney Lake is a shallow

alkali In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a ...

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 ...

basin located in southeast

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, approximately south of the city of Burns. The lake lies within the boundary of the

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located roughly south of the city of Burns in Oregon's Harney Basin. Administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the refuge area is roughly T-shaped with the southe ...

and is the lowest point in the Blitzen Valley drainage.

History

The lake has been known by several names, including Salt Lake in 1838, Tonowama, and Lake Harney. Despite a history of 9,000 years of human inhabitation on Harney Lake by the Northern Paiute Indians primarily as nomadic wintering camps, little sign of modern human habitation is evident on Harney Lake. The nearest residents live in the community of

Narrows A narrows or narrow (used interchangeably but usually in the plural form), is a restricted land or water passage. Most commonly a narrows is a strait, though it can also be a water gap. A narrows may form where a stream passes through a tilted ...

Water level

During wet years, the lake receives water from Malheur Lake, located approximately to the east. The depth of Harney Lake is less than during normal water years and has dried up completely during times of drought. As typical to other alkali lake beds in the western United States, minimal aquatic life is found in Harney Lake. A species of inland

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 ...

is the only form of life in Harney Lake. Despite its limited food supply, the lake is part of an important inland marsh ecosystem for migratory birds in the arid southeast Oregon desert.

Ecology

Malheur Lake Basin redband trout

Malheur and Harney lakes have reduced access by

Great Basin redband trout The Great Basin redband trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss newberrii'') is one of three redband trout subspecies of the rainbow trout in the western United States. The Great Basin redband trout is native to drainages in south central Oregon east of th ...

due to irrigation diversions, channelization, draining of marshlands and high alkalinities. Even if trout could gain access again, redband populations would not survive in this marginal habitat. Harney Lake has been inhospitable to redband trout for many years due to high alkalinities. Today, redband trout in the Malheur Lakes Basin are widely distributed in small- and medium-size streams. The redband is a unique subspecies adapted to the Malheur Lake Basin ecosystem. In these closed High Desert basins, redband trout have evolved to survive in environments with vast extremes of both water flow and temperature. They are one of only eight separate desert basin populations of interior native redband trout. The Malheur Lakes redband comprises 10 population groups in the closed interior basin of Harney and Malheur lakes. Historically, all streams were interconnected and these fish moved to the lakes and among population segments. While not an officially designated threatened or endangered species, the Redband Trout is recognized as important resource, and this law sets aside land in Oregon for protection and research of Redband Trout. The Steens Mountains Cooperative Management and Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-399)Malheur Lake Basin Redband - The Ecological Angler
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References

External links

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Malheur National Wildlife RefugeMalheur National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan
*Getting, A.C. (1992
''Lake and Marsh-Edge Settlements on Malheur Lake, Harney County, Oregon.''
Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology. 14(1): 110-129. *O'Grady, P.W. (2006
''Before Winter Comes: Archaeological Investigations of Settlement and Subsistence in Harney Valley, Harney County, Oregon.''
unpublished PhD dissertation, Department of Anthropology. University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. 541 pp. *Templeton, A. (2015
''Oregon Archaeologists Discover 15,000-Year-Old Knife.''
(west of Burns, Oregon) Oregon Public Radio, March 5, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2016. *Vickstrom, D., and L.A. Sirrine (2001
''Harney-Maiheur Lakes Sub-Basin Assessment.''
Harney County Watershed Council. Burns, Oregon.
Photo of merging lakes
spilling over

Frenchglen Highway Oregon Route 205 (OR 205) is a state highway in Harney County, Oregon, running from Roaring Springs Ranch to OR 78 near Burns. OR 205 is known as the Frenchglen Highway No. 440 (see Oregon highways and routes). It is long and ...