Lake Elsinore

Last updated

Lake Elsinore
ShoreofLakeElsinore.jpg
Shore of Lake Elsinore
Relief map of California.png
Red pog.svg
Lake Elsinore
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Lake Elsinore
Location Riverside County, California
Coordinates 33°39′33″N117°20′57″W / 33.65917°N 117.34917°W / 33.65917; -117.34917
Type Sag pond
Primary inflows San Jacinto River, Leach Canyon, McVicker Canyon
Primary outflows Temescal Wash
Catchment area 750 sq mi (1,900 km2)
Basin  countriesUnited States
Managing agencyCity of Lake Elsinore
Max. length6 mi (9.7 km) (max)
Max. width1.5 mi (2.4 km) (max)
Surface area2,993 acres (1,211 ha) (normal)
3,452 acres (1,397 ha) (full) [1]
Average depth27 ft (8.2 m) [1]
Max. depth42 ft (13 m) [1]
Water volume41,700 acre⋅ft (51,400 dam3) (normal)
89,900 acre⋅ft (110,900 dam3) (full) [1]
Shore length114 mi (23 km)
Surface elevation1,240 ft (380 m) (normal)
1,255 ft (383 m) (full) [1]
Settlements Lake Elsinore, Lakeland Village
Website www.lake-elsinore.org/city-hall/community-services/lake-recreation-and-fishing
References U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lake Elsinore
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Elsinore is a natural freshwater lake in Riverside County, California, United States, located east of the Santa Ana Mountains and fed by the San Jacinto River. Originally named Laguna Grande by Spanish explorers, it was renamed for the town of Elsinore, established on its northeastern shore on April 9, 1888.

Contents

Lake water levels have fluctuated greatly from dry spells to flooding. Lake Elsinore was home to the Lake Shore Beach Club, an African American resort. [2]

Limnology

Lake Elsinore is the largest natural freshwater lake in Southern California. With its own 750-mi2 (1,900-km2) watershed, it is situated at the lowest point within the San Jacinto River watershed of 750 sq mi (1,900 km2)[ clarification needed ], at the terminus of the San Jacinto River. It is the terminal lake of a partially closed basin called the San Jacinto Basin.

Lake water levels are healthy at an average of 1,244 ft (379 m) above sea level with a volume of 30,000 acre⋅ft (9.8 billion US gal; 37 billion L) [3] which often fluctuates, although much has been done recently to prevent the lake from drying up, flooding, or becoming stagnant.[ citation needed ] When the lake's water level is 1,255 ft (383 m), it spills into the outflow channel on its northeastern shore, known as Temescal Wash, flowing northwest through Temescal Canyon and feeding Alberhill Creek which joins Temescal Creek. The Temescal Creek in turn dumps into the Santa Ana River just northwest of Corona, California.

Lake history

Lake Elsinore was seen by the Spanish Franciscan padre Juan Santiago, exploring eastward from the Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1797. In 1810, the water level of the Laguna Grande was first described by a traveler as being little more than a swamp about a mile long. [4] Later in the early 19th century, the lake grew larger, providing Mexican rancheros, American trappers, the expedition of John C. Frémont, and the immigrants during the California Gold Rush a spot to camp and water their animals as they traveled along the southern shore of the lake on what later became the Southern Emigrant Trail and the route of the Butterfield Overland Mail. The lake and the Laguna Rancho adobe built near the lake on its southwest shore at its western corner was described by Benjamin Ignatius Hayes, who stayed there overnight on January 27–28, 1850:

In about 15 miles reach some timber where the hills approach near, apparently the termination of the valley of Temecula, a sort of low divide over which we enter into another valley. In both these is much good soil, although in the latter more of the wiry grass and more marshy, some little evergreen oak among the hills.

Come to the Laguna, two miles from the divide. Some good young grass, great deal of elder on its banks; as we rode along frequent flocks of geese rose from the shore; many shots at them; none brought down. The water of the Laguna is saltish, the animals cannot drink it; if they could, such a sheet of fresh water here would be invaluable to the owner of this land. As we were moving along the lake, an Indian overtook us, running as if to catch up with us; said he was from Temecula and going to the mines; had a little pinole tied up in a handkerchief; spoke Spanish, seemed disposed to be communicative.

At sunset the moon rises behind the snowy peaks to the eastward and is reflected on the lake. Wild sage; the lake has evidently once, near the house, been with a much broader basin. How is it supplied with water? Clover around it. The house is a substantial adobe. A small stream seems to enter it on the east. A low range of hills nearly surrounds the lake, higher where we are encamped on the southern side. The lake valley seems to be higher than that of Temecula…Two or three men at this house; their wives seem to be Indians.

Road firm and good, gently ascending for a mile or more from the lake; then uneven, occasionally sandy, to Temescal. [5]

As a result of the Great Flood of 1862, the level of the lake was very high, and the Union Army created a post at the lake to graze and water their horses. In the great 1862–65 drought, most of the cattle in Southern California died and the lake level fell, especially during 1866 and 1867, when practically no rain fell. However, the lake was full again in 1872, when it overflowed down its outlet through Temescal Canyon. [6] After 1872, the lake again evaporated to a very low level, but the great rains in the winter of 1883–84 filled it to overflowing in three weeks. Descriptions of the lake at this time say that large willow trees surrounding the former low-water shore line stood 20 ft (6.1 m) or more below the high-water level and were of such size that they must have been 30 or more years old. Indications are that the high water of the 1860s and 1870s must have been of a very short duration. [7]

The rainfall until 1893 was greater than normal, and the lake remained high and overflowed naturally on three or four occasions during that time. The lake water was purchased by the Temescal Water Company for the irrigation of land in Corona. Its outlet channel was deepened, permitting gravity flow down the natural channel of Temescal Canyon to Corona for a year or more after the water level sank below the natural elevation of its outlet. As the lake surface continued to recede, a pumping plant was installed, and pumping was continued a few seasons, but the concentration of salts in the lake, due to the evaporation and lack of rainfall, soon made the water unfit for irrigation, and the project was abandoned by the company. [7] After 1893, the lake's water level sank almost continuously for nearly 10 years, with a slight rise every winter. Heavier precipitation, beginning in 1903, gradually filled the lake to about half the depth above its minimum level since 1883. Then in January, 1916, a flood rapidly raised the level to overflowing.

The lake hosted teams for Olympic training and high-speed boat racing in the 1920s. It went dry in the mid-1930s, but refilled by 1938. [7] The lake ran dry during most of the 1950s and was refilled in the early 1960s. More than a week of heavy rains in 1980 flooded the lake, destroying surrounding homes and businesses. Since then a multimillion-dollar project has been put into place to maintain the water at a consistent level, allowing for homes to be built close to the lake. In 2007, an aeration system was added to prevent fish kills in the lake's ecosystem. A series of storms in February 2024, brought the lake to 1,248 ft, a 25 year high. [8]

Description

Lake Elsinore sits in a basin, the Elsinore Valley which is a graben rift valley and part of the Elsinore Trough. It is the largest sag pond in the Elsinore Fault Zone. [9] [10] It lies beyond the northwestern extremity of the Temecula Valley, cut off from its Santa Margarita River watershed by a slight ridge running across the valley south of the lake between the Sedco Hills and the Elsinore Mountains to the west, part of the larger Santa Ana Mountain Range to the west and northwest of the valley. On the west side of the lake are many small arroyos like the Lakeland Village Channel, which drains canyons whose source is on the east slope of the Elsinore Mountains. Lake Elsinore's northwestern shore rises to the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains and the saddle between them and the Clevelin Hills, which closely enclose the lake along its northeastern shore until they decline and end short near the shore of the Temescal Creek outlet from the lake that passes through downtown Lake Elsinore. Two of its larger tributaries come into the north shore of the lake from the Santa Ana Mountains, Leach Canyon Creek, and McVicker Canyon Creek.

The lake south of the Temescal Creek outlet lies in an open area at the mouth of its major tributary, the San Jacinto River, distantly bounded to the east by the Tuscany Hills and south of the river by the Sedco Hills both part of the range of the Temescal Mountains. Much of the lake basin has been cut off from the lake and river by a flood-control levee, which only permits the isolated section to fill after an extremely large rainfall event raises the lake over the level of the overflow spillway, north of the baseball stadium.

Discharge

Lake Elsinore Valley and the San Jacinto Basin which is its tributary, is a partially closed drainage basin and part of the Great Basin Divide. Its watershed is normally endorheic, but sometimes flows into the Santa Ana River watershed during periods of high water after heavy rainfall or snow melt. It discharges water through the Elsinore Spillway Channel outlet to Temescal Creek when the lake reaches the level of the outlet at 1,255 ft (383 m). Temescal Creek, flows through Warm Springs Valley and Walker Canyon [11] into the Temescal Wash, which in turn flows through the northern Elsinore Trough to the Santa Ana River in such conditions. In recent years, efforts to maintain the lake at a stable high level have made the flows occur more frequently and for a longer duration during the year.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Elsinore, California</span> City in California, United States

Lake Elsinore is a city in western Riverside County, California, United States. Established as a city in 1888, it is on the shore of Lake Elsinore, a natural freshwater lake about 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) in size. The city has grown from a small resort town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to a suburban city with over 70,000 residents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Ana River</span> River in California, United States

The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino and Riverside counties, before cutting through the northern Santa Ana Mountains via Santa Ana Canyon and flowing southwest through urban Orange County to drain into the Pacific Ocean. The Santa Ana River is 96 miles (154 km) long, and its drainage basin is 2,650 square miles (6,900 km2) in size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Ana Mountains</span> Mountain range in California, United States

The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately 61 miles (98 km) southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riverside counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Mathews</span> Reservoir in Riverside County, California

Lake Mathews is a large reservoir in Riverside County, California, located in the Cajalco Canyon in the foothills of the Temescal Mountains. It is the western terminus for the Colorado River Aqueduct that provides much of the water used by the cities and water districts of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). The reservoir is fenced and closed to all public access. The lake is near the Riverside community of Lake Hills, and is skirted by Cajalco Road on the south, El Sobrante Road on the north and east, and La Sierra Avenue on the west. La Sierra Avenue traverses the top of the west dike.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Jacinto River (California)</span> River in California, United States

The San Jacinto River is a 42-mile-long (68 km) river in Riverside County, California. The river's headwaters are in Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. The lower portion of the 765-square-mile (1,980 km2) watershed is urban and agricultural land. As a partially endorheic watershed that is contiguous with other Great Basin watersheds, the western side of the San Jacinto Basin is a portion of the Great Basin Divide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Juan Creek</span> River in Orange County, California, United States

San Juan Creek, also called the San Juan River, is a 29-mile (47 km) long stream in Orange and Riverside Counties, draining a watershed of 133.9 square miles (347 km2). Its mainstem begins in the southern Santa Ana Mountains in the Cleveland National Forest. It winds west and south through San Juan Canyon, and is joined by Arroyo Trabuco as it passes through San Juan Capistrano. It flows into the Pacific Ocean at Doheny State Beach. State Route 74, the Ortega Highway, crosses the Santa Ana Mountains via San Juan Canyon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temecula Valley</span> Valley in Riverside County, California, United States

The Temecula Valley is a graben rift valley in western Riverside County, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aliso Creek (Orange County)</span> River in the United States of America

Aliso Creek is a 19.8-mile (31.9 km)-long, mostly urban stream in south Orange County, California. Originating in the Cleveland National Forest in the Santa Ana Mountains, it flows generally southwest and empties into the Pacific Ocean at Laguna Beach. The creek's watershed drains 34.9 square miles (90 km2), and it is joined by seven main tributaries. As of 2018, the watershed had a population of 144,000 divided among seven incorporated cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oso Creek</span> Tributary of Arroyo Trabuco in Orange County, California

Oso Creek is an approximately 13.5-mile (21.7 km) tributary of Arroyo Trabuco in southern Orange County in the U.S. state of California. Draining about 20 square miles (52 km2) in a region north of the San Joaquin Hills and south of the Santa Ana Mountains, the creek is Trabuco Creek's largest tributary, and is part of the San Juan Creek drainage basin. Beginning in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains near the city of Mission Viejo, the creek is dammed twice to form Upper Oso Reservoir and Lake Mission Viejo. The creek is channelized and polluted along much of its length.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santiago Creek</span> River in California, United States

Santiago Creek is a major watercourse in Orange County in the U.S. state of California. About 34 miles (55 km) long, it drains most of the northern Santa Ana Mountains and is a tributary to the Santa Ana River. It is one of the longest watercourses entirely within the county. The creek shares its name with Santiago Peak, at 5,687 ft (1,733 m) the highest point in Orange County, on whose slopes its headwaters rise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Creek</span> River in California, United States

San Diego Creek is a 16-mile (26 km) urban waterway flowing into Upper Newport Bay in Orange County, California in the United States. Its watershed covers 112.2 square miles (291 km2) in parts of eight cities, including Irvine, Tustin, and Costa Mesa. From its headwaters in Laguna Woods the creek flows northwest to its confluence with Peters Canyon Wash, where it turns abruptly southwest towards the bay. Most of the creek has been converted to a concrete flood control channel, but it also provides important aquatic and riparian habitat along its course and its tidal estuary.

Rancho La Laguna was a 13,339-acre (53.98 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Riverside County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Julian Manriquez. The rancho lands are included in the present day city of Lake Elsinore and Wildomar. At the time of the US Patent, Rancho Laguna was a part of San Diego County. The County of Riverside was created by the California Legislature in 1893 by taking land from both San Bernardino and San Diego Counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Mateo Creek (Southern California)</span> River in California, United States

San Mateo Creek is a stream in Southern California in the United States, whose watershed mostly straddles the border of Orange and San Diego Counties. It is about 22 miles (35 km) long, flowing in a generally southwesterly direction. Draining a broad valley bounded by the Santa Ana Mountains and Santa Margarita Mountains, San Mateo Creek is notable for being one of the last unchannelized streams in Southern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temescal Creek (Riverside County)</span> River in the United States

Temescal Creek is an approximately 29-mile-long (47 km) watercourse in Riverside County, in the U.S. state of California. Flowing primarily in a northwestern direction, it connects Lake Elsinore with the Santa Ana River. It drains the eastern slopes of the Santa Ana Mountains on its left and on its right the western slopes of the Temescal Mountains along its length. With a drainage basin of about 1,000 square miles (2,600 km2), it is the largest tributary of the Santa Ana River, hydrologically connecting the 720-square-mile (1,900 km2) San Jacinto River and Lake Elsinore watersheds to the rest of the Santa Ana watershed. However, flowing through an arid rain shadow zone of the Santa Ana Mountains, and with diversion of ground water for human use, the creek today is ephemeral for most of its length, except for runoff from housing developments and agricultural return flows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elsinore Trough</span>

The Elsinore Trough is a graben rift valley in Riverside County, southern California. It is created by the Elsinore Fault Zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temescal Mountains</span> Mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges in Southern California

The Temescal Mountains, also known as the Sierra Temescal, are one of the northernmost mountain ranges of the Peninsular Ranges in western Riverside County, in Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately 25 mi (40 km) southeast of the Santa Ana River east of the Elsinore Fault Zone to the Temecula Basin and form the western edge of the Perris Block.

Temescal Valley in California is a graben rift valley in western Riverside County, California, a part of the Elsinore Trough. The Elsinore Trough is a graben between the Santa Ana Mountain Block to the southwest and the Perris Block on the northeast. It is a complex graben, divided lengthwise into several smaller sections by transverse faults. The Temescal Valley is one of these graben, at the northern end of the trough. The Temescal Valley graben is bounded northeast side by the Lee Lake longitudinal fault and similarly on the southeast by the Glen Ivy Fault.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elsinore Valley</span>

Elsinore Valley is a graben rift valley in western Riverside County, California, a part of the Elsinore Trough. The Elsinore Valley is a graben between the Santa Ana Block to the southwest and the Perris Block on the northeast. It is a complex graben, divided lengthwise into several smaller sections by transverse faults.

The Perris Block is the central block of three major fault-bounded blocks of the northern part of the Peninsular Ranges. The Perris Block lies between the Santa Ana Block to the west and the San Jacinto Block to the east. The Perris Block, was named by Walter A. English in 1925 for the city of Perris, located near the center of the block.

Temecula Basin is a sedimentary basin, which, along with the Aguanga Basin, is part of the Elsinore Fault Zone, in southwestern Riverside County, California. The Temecula Basin is a basin of down faulted Mesozoic basement rock, overlain by late Cenozoic continental sediments.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Meares, Hadley (May 4, 2020). "A Look Back at California's Long-Lost Black Beaches and Vacation Spots". LAmag. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  3. http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/board_info/agendas/2002/july/0718-12.doc STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD
  4. Water-supply paper, Volumes 425–429 By Geological Survey (U.S.), History of Elsinore Lake, p. 255
  5. Benjamin Ignatius Hayes, Edited and published by Marjorie Tisdale Wolcott, Pioneer notes from the diaries of Judge Benjamin Hayes, 1849–1875, Los Angeles, Priv. print., 1929. pp. 64–65 The adobe described was that of the Rancho La Laguna (Manriquez), owned at the time by Abel Stearns.
  6. Water-supply paper, Volumes 425–429 By Geological Survey (U.S.), History of Elsinore Lake, p. 255]
  7. 1 2 3 Water-supply paper, Volumes 425–429 By Geological Survey (U.S.), History of Elsinore Lake, p. 255
  8. "Lake Elsinore surges to record-breaking water levels after Southern California rainstorms". KTLA. February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  9. http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/projects/ecoregions/m262bk.htm Ecological Subregions of California, Subsection M262Bk, Perris Valley and Hills
  10. Lin II, Rong-Gong (March 21, 2017). "Notorious L.A. earthquake fault more dangerous than experts believed, new research shows". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  11. Cosgrove, Jaclyn. "'Super bloom' shutdown: Lake Elsinore shuts access after crowds descend on poppy fields". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved March 18, 2019.

Further reading

33°39′33″N117°20′57″W / 33.65917°N 117.34917°W / 33.65917; -117.34917