Sparks Lake is a natural body of water near the crest of the central

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 ...

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 ...

. The lake is about west-southwest of Bend along the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway in

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 ...

. Named for a 19th-century rancher, "Lige" Sparks, the water body is a remnant of a bigger lake that has partly filled with sediment and vegetation. Many of the region's mountain peaks, such as Mount Bachelor, Three Sisters, and

Broken Top Broken Top is a glacially eroded complex stratovolcano. It lies in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, part of the extensive Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located southeast of the Three Sisters peaks, the volcano, residing within the Three ...

, are visible from the lake. Other lakes in the vicinity include Todd,

Elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...

, Hosmer, Blow, and Doris.

Hydrology

Sparks lake lies in a closed basin formed by lava flows of the Three Sisters and Mt. Bachelor volcanic systems which occurred in the early

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

or late

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

eras. Sparks Lake is fed by snow melt from South Sister and

mountains. While Sparks Lake has no visible outflow into the Deschutes River basin, the lake can be observed flowing into crevasses and outcrops along the South West shores. The waters of Sparks Lake likely feed springs in the tributaries above Crane Prairie Reservoir

Recreation

The

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...

maintains a boat launch at Sparks Lake. The site has a parking area, a lake trail, and dispersed camping at locations accessible by boat. A more formal campground run by the Forest Service is nearby along Soda Creek. Sparks Lake supports populations of

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 ...

and stocked

cutthroat trout The cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii'' clade) is a clade of four fish species of the Family (biology), family Salmonidae native to cold-water Tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. ...

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 ...

is the only kind of angling allowed on the lake. Motorboats may be used for transportation, but fishing is allowed from them only when their motors are turned off.

References

External links

* {{authority control Deschutes National Forest Lakes of Oregon Lakes of Deschutes County, Oregon Protected areas of Deschutes County, Oregon

Hydrology

Recreation

See also

References

External links