Payette Lake is a 5,000 acre natural lake in the

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, located in west central

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

McCall McCall comes from the Gaelic surname of Scottish origin, which means "son of the battle chief". The McCall family was born on the Scottish west coast among the ancient Dalriadan clans. Notable people with this surname include: * Andy McCall (footb ...

. Formed by glacial activity, it is situated in the upper

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of the

Payette River The Payette River () is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 3, 2011 river in southwestern Idaho and a major tributary of the Snake River. Its headwaters originate in ...

, which drains into the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

. Outflow from the lake at its southwest corner is regulated for irrigation purposes by a small dam completed in 1943. The normal maximum lake surface

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

is attained in July; a normal drawdown of is completed by December. The lake's surface area and volume, excluding islands, are and , respectively; mean and maximum depths are and , respectively; and shoreline length is about . The maximum length of the lake is 6.02 miles (9.7 km) and the maximum width is 2.25 miles (3.62 km). The principal tributary and outlet is the North Fork of the

. The lake receives drainage from of heavily forested, mountainous terrain. Further south, the North Fork flows into

Lake Cascade Lake Cascade (formerly Cascade Reservoir), is a reservoir in the western United States, on the North Fork of the Payette River in Valley County, Idaho. Located in the Boise National Forest, it has a surface area of , and is the fourth largest l ...

, the reservoir behind Cascade Dam.

History

Prior to the arrival of

Euro-American European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...

hunters in the 1830s, the area had been inhabited by

Native Americans Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

for thousands of years. The discovery of gold in 1862 in the upper drainage of Payette Lake prompted an influx of miners to the area. The townsite of

was established on the lake's southern shore in the 1880s. The area became more accessible in 1914 when a railroad and roads were extended to McCall, which was becoming a tourist destination for summer and winter recreation. In 1920, the Idaho State Land Board began leasing vacation homesites around Payette Lake. Increasing recreational demands led to the establishment of Brundage Mountain Ski Area and

Ponderosa State Park Ponderosa State Park is a public recreation area and state park occupying a peninsula in Payette Lake on the northeast edge of McCall in Valley County, Idaho, United States. The park's include a second unit, called North Beach, located north ...

, both near McCall, in the 1960s. The large

Payette Lakes Club The Payette Lakes Club, at 1585 Warren Wagon Rd. in McCall, Idaho, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. It is a large ( in plan) three-story building which was built during 1914-15 and was "instrumental in the early dev ...

was said to be significant in supporting recreation in the area; it was built 1914–15, on a knoll overlooking the lake from the west, and served as an inn, casino, and

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) is an adult education and social movement in the United States that peaked in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Cha ...

center. It was surrounded by development of many small cabin lots. With accompanying pictures

Activities

The Lake is a popular fishing destination for fly fishing, shore fishing, and boat fishing. There are three species of trout in the lake: rainbow, cutthroat and lake trout. Additional species include Kokanee, tiger muskie, walleye, crappie, and smallmouth bass. Trophy-sized fish are frequently caught here. In addition to fishing, lake activities include swimming, sailing, water skiing, wake surfing, wake boarding, jet skiing, canoeing, kayaking, and paddle boarding. There are several public launch sites around the lake and marina slips, as well as options for renting equipment on the lake and in the town of McCall. There is a fuel dock at th
Mile High Marina

In popular culture

In Idaho folklore, a sea serpent much like the

Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster (), known affectionately as Nessie, is a mythical creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protrud ...

is said to live in the deep waters of Payette Lake and in 1954, the creature was given the name

Sharlie In Idaho folklore, Sharlie (Slimy Slim, The Twilight Dragon of Payette Lake) is the name given to a sea serpent much like the Loch Ness Monster that is believed by some to live in the deep alpine waters of Payette Lake near McCall, Idaho. The fi ...

References

External links

Payette Lake
Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Geologic Map of McCall (with Payette Lake bathymetry)
{{authority control Lakes of Idaho Lakes of Valley County, Idaho Idaho folklore