Cultus Lake is a natural lake in

Deschutes County Deschutes County ( ) is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 198,253. The county seat is Bend. The county was created in 1916 out of part of Crook County and was named for the Deschu ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. Formed by a

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

, it is located in the high

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

in the

Deschutes National Forest The Deschutes National Forest is a United States national forest (NF) located in Central Oregon, in parts of Deschutes, Klamath, Lake, and Jefferson counties. It was established in 1908, with border changes following in 1911 and 1915. The f ...

. The name is from the

Chinook Jargon Chinook Jargon (' or ', also known simply as ''Chinook'' or ''Jargon'') is a language originating as a pidgin language, pidgin trade language in the Pacific Northwest. It spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to othe ...

and means variously bad or worthless, or simply "in vain". In the early 19th century, the lakes in this area abounded with

beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

s. The earliest explorers to this area were primarily on a quest for furs.

Description

Cultus Lake lies at the base of the Cultus Mountain. The lake itself is natural and is at its deepest point and about long. Several species of fish inhabit the lake, including

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater Salvelinus, char living mainly in lakes in Northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, laker, and grey trout. In Lake Sup ...

(mackinaw) and

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada. Two ecological forms of brook trout h ...

. The lake also receives several streams inhabited by younger fish. The largest is Winopee Creek, which enters through the marsh on the northwestern side, a popular

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is in ...

spot. Two miles south is a smaller lake called Little Cultus Lake. The two lakes are divided by Cultus Mountain. The lake empties to the east via Cultus Creek, which flows into Crane Prairie Reservoir. The area around Cultus Lake is known for its large

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is t ...

Douglas-fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...

and western white pine, sometimes rising to tall. However, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the large pines are being weakened by competing

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the Canopy (biology), forest ca ...

fir trees and mountain pine beetle attacks. If the trend is not reversed, there will be a shift in tree species (and tree size) from pine and Douglas-fir to

white fir ''Abies concolor'', the white fir, concolor fir, or Colorado fir, is a coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. This tree is native to the mountains of western North America, including the Sierra Nevada and southern Rocky Mountains, and int ...

. The service recommends the selective

thinning In agricultural sciences, thinning is the removal of some plants, or parts of plants, to make room for the growth of others. Selective removal of parts of a plant such as branches, buds, or roots is typically known as '' pruning''. In forestry ...

of white fir understory trees around selected ponderosa and western white pine to increase light, and the availability of nutrients, allowing the selected pines to grow more vigorously and increase their resistance to bark beetles.

Management policies

The

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is a state government, government agency of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for programs protecting Oregon fish and wildlife resources and their habitats. The agency operates hatcheries, i ...

manages the lake for the natural and hatchery production of rainbow trout and brook trout. They also manage the natural production of Mountain Whitefish and lake trout.

Amenities

Cultus is a recreational lake and is also popular for water skiing, sailing, jet skiing and boating. The lake has a resort with 23 cabins and a lodge with a restaurant and a store. There are also three other campsites for people to set up tents or park RVs.

References

External links

Deschutes National Forest
{{authority control Lakes of Oregon Chinook Jargon place names Lakes of Deschutes County, Oregon Protected areas of Deschutes County, Oregon Deschutes National Forest

Description

Management policies

Amenities

See also

References

External links