The Goose Lake Valley is located in south-central Oregon and northeastern California in the United States. It is a high valley at the northwestern corner of North America's Great Basin. Much of the valley floor is covered by Goose Lake, a large endorheic lake that straddles the Oregon–California border. Native Americans inhabited the Goose Lake Valley for thousands of years before explorers arrived in the 19th century. The pioneer wagon route known as the Applegate Trail crossed the Goose Lake Valley on its way to southern Oregon. At the south end of Goose Lake, the Lassen Cutoff separated from the Applegate Trail and headed south toward the Sacramento Valley. Today, Lakeview, Oregon, is the largest settlement in the valley. Livestock ranching and lumber mills are the valley's main commercial activity. The Goose Lake Valley offers a number of recreational opportunities including hang-gliding, hunting, fishing, and birdwatching.
Geography
The Goose Lake Valley is located in Lake County in south-central Oregon and Modoc County in northeastern California. It is approximately long and wide.Oregon-California Goose Lake Interstate Compact , ratified by the State of Oregon by chapter 473, Oregon Laws 1963 and signed by Governor of Oregon on 6 June 1963; ratified by the State of California by chapter 1059, California Statutes 1963 and signed by Governor of California on 28 June 1963; and consented to by Public Law 98-334 passed by the 98th Congress of the United States and signed by the President of the United States on 2 July 1984."Goose Lake Valley Groundwater Basin, Lower Goose Lake Valley Subbasin" (PDF), Northeastern Counties Ground Water Investigation Bulletin 118, California Department of Water Resources, 27 February 2004.
The largest settlement in the Goose Lake Valley is Lakeview. There are two main highways that pass through the valley, and both pass through Lakeview. U.S. Route 395 runs north–south through the valley while Oregon Route 140 crosses the valley east–west. Klamath Falls, Oregon, is west of Lakeview on Route 140. Winnemucca, Nevada, is on Route 140, east of Lakeview. Bend, Oregon, is northwest of Lakeview via Route 395, Oregon Route 31, and U.S. Route 97. Burns, Oregon, is northeast of Lakeview on Route 395 while Alturas, California, is south of Lakeview on the same highway.MapQuest Directions, www.mapquest.com, MapQuest, Inc, Denver, Colorado, 2009.
Three sides of the valley are bordered by mountains that rise several thousand feet above the valley floor. On the east side, the Warner Mountains run the entire length of the valley, while the Fremont Mountains border the valley's north and west sides. At the northern end of the valley between the two mountain ranges is a low pass connecting the Goose Lake Valley with the Crooked Creek Valley, a small basin-and-range valley that leads to the south shore of Abert Lake. South and southwest of the Goose Lake Valley is the Modoc Plateau. Crane Mountain Oregon, in the Warner Mountains, is the highest point overlooking the valley. The summit of Crane Mountain is above sea level.United States Geological Survey topographic map, ACME mapper, www.acme.com, 29 March 2009.Biddle, H. J., "Note of the Surface Geology of Southern Oregon", The American Journal of Science, Tuttle, Morehouse and Taylor, New Haven, Connecticut, 1888, pp. 478–480."Crane Mountain (OR)", Summit Post, www.summitpost.org, 9 January 2010.
The valley floor averages to about above sea level.Pardee, George C., et al, "Goose Lake Valley", Report of the Conservation Commission of the State of California, Sacramento, California Conservation Commission, California, 1 January 1913, p. 112. It is dominated by Goose Lake, a large mildly-alkali lake. The surface elevation of the lake is above sea level at normal water levels. The lake normally has no outlet; however, when the water level is extremely high, the south end of the lake can overflow into the Pit River. During severe and extended drought periods, the lake has gone completely dry."Goose Lake", www.pitrivealliance.net, Pit River Watershed Alliance, Alturas, California, 27 December 2009."Goose Lake, CA", Lat-Long Services, www.lat-long.com, 2 January 2010.
There are a number of streams that flow into the valley from the Fremont and Warner Mountains. The Fremont Mountains provide most of the fresh water delivered to Goose Lake. These northern and western slopes of the Goose Lake basin are drained by Thomas Creek, Muddy Creek, Cottonwood Creek, and Drews Creek. All flow into Goose Lake. At the southern end of the basin, Willow Creek and Lassen Creek flow from the Warner Mountains into Goose Lake."Pluvial Lakes: Oregon's inland seas" , Oregon: A Geologic History, Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, Portland, Oregon, 23 December 2009."Goose Lake Redband Trout" (PDF), Oregon Native Fish Status Report (Vol. II), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Salem, Oregon, 2005.
Geology
The area around the Goose Lake Valley was formed by faulted blocking. There are numerous bounding faults on the west and east side of the valley. The valley itself is an alluvial basin. Its underlying strata were formed by Pliocene and Pleistocene lava flows covered by Holocene sedimentary deposits. It is bounded by Pliocene and Tertiary basalt that form the Fremont and Warner Mountains, and on the south and southwest by Pliocene basalt of the Modoc Plateau.
In the Goose Lake area, volcanic rock from the Pliocene is up to thick. This is topped with additional layers of Pleistocene basalt up to thick. The upper levels of strata are sedimentary deposits from the Holocene, which are thick in some areas. The upper alluvial layers consist of partially stratified sand and silt mixed with layers of gravel. These deposits are permeable and provide the valley with groundwater. Calcium bicarbonate occurs in the groundwater throughout the basin.
The entire valley was once covered by a single vast pluvial lake that may have been deep during the Pleistocene epoch. However, during the Holocene epoch, water levels gradually receded, leaving a large endorheic lake. Today, the lake is known as Goose Lake and is only deep at its deepest point.
Climate
The climate in the Goose Lake Valley is typical of the high desert country of south-central Oregon. It has warm summers and very cold winters. The valley gets an average of of rain per year. It also gets an average of of snow. The snowpack from the surrounding mountains feeds the streams that drain into the valley."Climate" , www.lakecountyor.org, Lake County Government, Lakeview, Oregon, 17 August 2009.Weatherbase, www.weatherbase.com, Canty and Associates, Great Falls, Virginia, 3 January 2010.
Spring is short, limiting the growing season to approximately 100 days. In the summer, days are generally warm and dry, but nights can be cool. High temperatures during the summer normally range from . Fall days tend to be clear and crisp with cold nights. Winters in the valley are quite cold, with daily temperatures averaging below freezing from December through February. Daily low temperatures can reach during the winter months."Quick Facts" , Lake County Chamber of Commerce, Lakeview, Oregon, 3 January 2010.
Ecology
The Goose Lake Valley provides a number of unique animal habitats. These include lakes, marshes, riparian areas, grasslands, sage steppes, dry forests, and mountain rimrocks. They range in elevation from above sea level along the shore of Goose Lake to over at the summit of Crane Mountain. Marsh grasses are common along the lake shore. Riparian habitats support stands of quaking aspen, alder, and willow. Big sagebrush, bitterbrush, bunchgrass, and fescue are typical ground cover in the steppe and grassland areas. Western juniper, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, and white fir dominate the dry forest areas. Wildflowers found in the Goose Lake Valley area include common yarrow, camas, larkspur, elephant-head flower, blazing star, and crane orchids.Wooley, Robert L., "Botany", Fremont–Winema National Forest, United States Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, Lakeview, Oregon, 19 July 2006."Basin and Range Birding Trail" (PDF), Southern Oregon Basin and Range Site Management Agencies, Lakeview District, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service Rivers and Trails Program, Lakeview, Oregon, 2010."Wildflowers in Oregon's Outback", www.OregonsOutback.com, Lakeview, Oregon, 16 January 2010.
The valley's wildlife includes common high desert mammal species. These include pronghorn, elk, mule deer, black bear, cougar, bobcat, and coyotes. Smaller mammals include jackrabbits, ground squirrels, and chipmunks."Fish and Wildlife", Fremont-Winema National Forest, United States Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, Lakeview, Oregon, 19 July 2006.
The Goose Lake Valley is on the western flyway from Mexico to bird breeding grounds in the Arctic. During the spring, Canada geese, snow geese, Ross' geese, and whistling swans stops in the valley to feed and rest before continuing north. Numerous shorebirds also migrate through the valley. These include black-necked stilts, American avocets, spotted sandpipers, Wilson's phalaropes, red-necked phalaropes, black terns, eared grebes, horned grebes, and cinnamon teal. In the fall, these birds pass through the valley on their way south. In addition, a number of bird species nest in the areas around Goose Lake. Shorebirds such as American avocets, willets, killdeer, western grebe, and long-billed curlew nest near the lake. The wetlands north of the lake provide breeding areas for Canada geese and sandhill cranes as well as mallard and other duck species. The north shore wetlands are also an important breeding area for Clark's grebes, white-faced ibis, and great egret. Tundra swans and American white pelicans use the area as well. The lake supported a winter populations of over 10,000 Canada geese. Barrow's goldeneye and common goldeneye also winter in the area."Goose Lake (and Garret Ranch)" , Audubon, National Audubon Society, New York, New York, 16 January 2010.Most, Stephen, "Putting Nature to Work: Geese over Lakeview", The Oregon History Project, Oregon Historical Society, Portland, Oregon, 2003.Haig, Susan, "Key shorebird areas of the Intermountain West: Goose Lake", Intermountain West Regional Shorebird Plan, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of Interior, Washington, D.C., 13 December 2009, p. 36.
Most of the original marsh land around Goose Lake is now private property used for agriculture. This affects the lake environment. Cattle grazing near the edge of the lake has damaged the dry alkali crust, creating muddy areas around the freshwater streams that flow into the lake. During periods of drought, these muddy areas can almost encircle the lake, destroying islands that birds normally use as breeding habitat. Ranch hay product also affects the bird population. During the breeding season, hay harvesting can damage breeding habitat, destroy nests, and kill young chicks. The last large bulrush marsh in the Goose Lake Valley is just north of the lake. To preserve the area, United States Fish and Wildlife Service has been trying to purchase this property.