Tule Lake ( ) is an intermittent lake covering an area of , long and across, in northeastern Siskiyou County and northwestern Modoc County in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, along the border with

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 ...

Geography

Tule Lake is fed by the Lost River. The elevation of the lake is . It is one of twenty

ancient lake An ancient lake is a lake that has consistently carried water for more than one million years. Twelve of the 20 ancient lakes have existed for more than 2.6 million years, the full Quaternary period. Ancient lakes continue to persist due to plat ...

s in the world that have existed continuously for more than 1 million years. However, this has recently come under significant threat due to multiple years of drought conditions. Tule Lake is located , southwest of the town of Tulelake in

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

Wildlife and water

The lake is part of the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge and the Klamath Project. Deliveries of water from the Klamath Project have been necessary to provide sufficient water for wildlife. On July 24, 2020, a delivery of water from the Klamath Project saved 50,000 ducklings from death.

History

Canby's Cross is located about south of the lake; it is the site where General Edward Canby was killed by the Modoc chief Kintpuash, also known to American settlers as Captain Jack. The

Tule Lake War Relocation Center The Tule Lake War Relocation Center, also known as the Tule Lake Segregation Center, was an Internment of Japanese Americans, American concentration camp located in Modoc County, California, Modoc and Siskiyou County, California, Siskiyou count ...

, a

Japanese American internment During World War II, the United States forcibly relocated and incarcerated about 120,000 people of Japanese descent in ten concentration camps operated by the War Relocation Authority (WRA), mostly in the western interior of the country. Abou ...

camp, is located east of the lake, in Modoc County. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the United States

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

under

Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066 was a President of the United States, United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. "This order authorized the fo ...

, forced the evacuation of Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans, including citizens born in the United States, to numerous camps built in the interior of California and inland states. This camp later housed mainly those who rebelled against WRA control in other Japanese Internment Camps, as well as those who refused to cooperate under what was known as the "loyalty questionnaire". They were forced to sell their businesses and homes, and suffered enormous economic and psychological losses by being treated as potential enemies. Following World War II, the federal government awarded 86 farm sites on land reclaimed by the drainage of Tule Lake to returning white veterans using a

land lottery A land lottery or land ballot is a method of allocating land ownership or the right to occupy land by lot. Some examples are: * Moses' allocation of Promised Land territory to the Israelite tribes by lot, as mandated in Numbers 26:55 and 33:54 an ...

. A lottery was used because the number of applicants was greater than the number of homesteads available.Klamath Project, "The Klamath Project at 100: Conserving our Resources, Preserving our Heritage

accessed 3 July 2015

References

Ancient lakes Lakes of Modoc County, California Lakes of Siskiyou County, California Klamath Mountains Klamath River Modoc Plateau Lakes of Northern California Lakes of California {{SiskiyouCountyCA-geo-stub

Geography

Wildlife and water

History

See also

References