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Bear Lake (Idaho-Utah)
Encyclopedia
Bear Lake is a natural freshwater
lake
on the Utah
-Idaho
border in the Western United States
. It is the second largest natural freshwater lake in Utah and has been called the "Caribbean
of the Rockies" for its unique turquoise-blue color, the result of suspended limestone
deposits in the water. Its water properties have led to the evolution of several unique species that live naturally only within the lake. Bear Lake is over 250,000 years old. It was formed by fault subsidence that continues today, slowly deepening the lake along the eastern side.
Originally named Black Bear Lake by Donald Mackenzie, an explorer for the North West Fur Company
who discovered the lake in 1819, the name was later changed to the current Bear Lake. The lake is a popular destination for tourists and sportsmen and the surrounding valley has gained a reputation for having high quality raspberries
According to folklore
, Bear Lake holds a lake monster
: the so-called Bear Lake Monster
. Although this originated with Joseph C. Rich, who later admitted to making up the monster, people continue to report sightings of the monster today.
tribes, but the area was known to many Native Americans
. The first record of whites seeing the lake is from 1818 when French-Canadian trappers working for the North West Company followed the Bear River
upstream to the valley. Later, between 1825 and 1840, many mountain men
, including Jedediah Smith
and Jim Bridger
, met on the south shore with Native Americans to swap goods and stories. One story that was told was about the legendary lake monster. This monster has said to be seen even today especially in the caves running through the lake. In history, the monster has possibly taken at least 50 lives. This is the origin of the Rocky Mountain Rendezvous which continue to this day in mid-September on Rendezvous Beach. It is from these trappers that Bear Lake received its well-deserved infamy for harsh winters.
Although the lake lies relatively near the Oregon Trail
, which runs north and east of the lake, and was traveled by many pioneers between 1836 and the 1850s, it seems none of them went south enough to view the lake. It wasn't until 1863 that Mormon
pioneers led by Charles C. Rich
settled in the Bear Lake Valley, but they made an agreement with Native Americans which left most of the Utah portion of the valley in Indian possession. The Mormons gradually moved south and established the villages of Garden City
, Pickleville
, and Laketown
, each along the lake's shore.
In later years Bear Lake became a resort and recreation area, and this tradition has grown through the years with many developers selling lakeshore and mountain view lots. The beaches of Lakota and Ideal were given to private development in the 1970s, including the Blue Water and Sweetwater developments. The State of Utah bought the far southeast beach for use as a State Park, and also operates a marina
on the lake's west side.
Environmental concerns have arisen with the ongoing development of the area. The lake is diked on the Idaho side and downstream Bear River water users use it as a reservoir
.
straddling the Idaho-Utah border, the lake has an approximate area of 109 square miles (282 km²) and sits at an elevation of 5924 feet (1,805.6 m) along the northeast side of the Wasatch Range
and the east side of the Bear River Mountains
.
The lake and surrounding areas are a popular summer tourist destination. The lake has many marinas, beaches, and two tourist towns in Utah known as Garden City
and Laketown
. It also has two state park
s, each named Bear Lake State Park: one in Idaho, one in Utah.
Bear Lake has a high rate of endemism
(species living naturally only in one place). Several species evolved in the lake's waters, but after the diversion of the Bear River into the lake, many of these have gone extinct. Remaining known endemic species of fish include the Bonneville cisco
, Bonneville whitefish
, Bear Lake whitefish
, and Bear Lake sculpin
. Although other species have been introduced into the lake, few can reproduce successfully in the lake's waters, so it has not been affected as greatly as other lakes by invasive species.
Water from the lake is used for irrigation
in the nearby Bear Valley in southeast Idaho, and for recreational fishing
. The lake drains via the Bear River Outlet, completed in 1915 into the Bear River
which eventually flows into the northeast portion of Great Salt Lake
.
The climate in the valley is warm and dry during the summer, with first snowfall coming during the fall. Fog and snow are common during the winter. The lake is icebound during most winters and most of spring during freeze years.
Many locals from northern Utah, southern Idaho, and western Wyoming
come to Bear Lake for summer vacations due to its proximity and abundance of recreational activities.
On the east side of the lake, Boy Scouts
may take part in the Bear Lake Aquatics Base camp for one week from June through August.
s, parade
s, fireworks
, dance
s, a craft fair
, "Miss Berry Princess contest", raspberry recipe cookoff, a talent show
, fun run
and concert
s.
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
on the Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
-Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
border in the Western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
. It is the second largest natural freshwater lake in Utah and has been called the "Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
of the Rockies" for its unique turquoise-blue color, the result of suspended limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
deposits in the water. Its water properties have led to the evolution of several unique species that live naturally only within the lake. Bear Lake is over 250,000 years old. It was formed by fault subsidence that continues today, slowly deepening the lake along the eastern side.
Originally named Black Bear Lake by Donald Mackenzie, an explorer for the North West Fur Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
who discovered the lake in 1819, the name was later changed to the current Bear Lake. The lake is a popular destination for tourists and sportsmen and the surrounding valley has gained a reputation for having high quality raspberries
Raspberry
The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
According to folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, Bear Lake holds a lake monster
Lake monster
A lake monster or loch monster is a purported form of fresh-water-dwelling megafauna appearing in mythology, rumor, or local folklore, but whose existence lacks scientific support. A well known example is the Loch Ness Monster. Lake monsters' depictions are often similar to some sea monsters...
: the so-called Bear Lake Monster
Bear Lake Monster
The Bear Lake Monster is a cryptid appearing in local folk-lore near Bear Lake, on the Utah–Idaho border.The myth originally grew from articles written in the 19th century by Joseph C. Rich, a Mormon colonizer in the area, purporting to report second-hand accounts of sightings of the creature...
. Although this originated with Joseph C. Rich, who later admitted to making up the monster, people continue to report sightings of the monster today.
History
The first known inhabitants of the Bear Lake Valley were ShoshoneShoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
tribes, but the area was known to many Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. The first record of whites seeing the lake is from 1818 when French-Canadian trappers working for the North West Company followed the Bear River
Bear River (Utah)
The Bear River is a river, approximately long, in southwestern Wyoming, southeastern Idaho, and northern Utah, in the United States. The largest tributary of the Great Salt Lake, it drains a mountainous area and farming valleys northeast of the lake and southeast of the Snake River Plain...
upstream to the valley. Later, between 1825 and 1840, many mountain men
Mountain man
Mountain men were trappers and explorers who roamed the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through the 1880s where they were instrumental in opening up the various Emigrant Trails allowing Americans in the east to settle the new territories of the far west by organized wagon trains...
, including Jedediah Smith
Jedediah Smith
Jedediah Strong Smith was a hunter, trapper, fur trader, trailblazer, author, cartographer, cattleman, and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the American West Coast and the Southwest during the 19th century...
and Jim Bridger
Jim Bridger
James Felix "Jim" Bridger was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western United States during the decades of 1820-1850, as well as mediating between native tribes and encroaching whites...
, met on the south shore with Native Americans to swap goods and stories. One story that was told was about the legendary lake monster. This monster has said to be seen even today especially in the caves running through the lake. In history, the monster has possibly taken at least 50 lives. This is the origin of the Rocky Mountain Rendezvous which continue to this day in mid-September on Rendezvous Beach. It is from these trappers that Bear Lake received its well-deserved infamy for harsh winters.
Although the lake lies relatively near the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
, which runs north and east of the lake, and was traveled by many pioneers between 1836 and the 1850s, it seems none of them went south enough to view the lake. It wasn't until 1863 that Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
pioneers led by Charles C. Rich
Charles C. Rich
Charles Coulson Rich was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served as an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....
settled in the Bear Lake Valley, but they made an agreement with Native Americans which left most of the Utah portion of the valley in Indian possession. The Mormons gradually moved south and established the villages of Garden City
Garden City, Utah
Garden City is a town in Rich County, Utah, United States. The population was 562 at the 2010 census. Garden City sits on the shores of Bear Lake and is a popular summer resort destination town.-History:...
, Pickleville
Pickleville, Utah
Pickleville was a small town located near the western shore of Bear Lake, northeast of Salt Lake City, in Rich County, Utah, United States. It is now part of Garden City....
, and Laketown
Laketown, Utah
Laketown is a town in Rich County, Utah, United States. The population was 248 at the 2010 census. The town is named for nearby Bear Lake.-Geography:Laketown is located at ....
, each along the lake's shore.
In later years Bear Lake became a resort and recreation area, and this tradition has grown through the years with many developers selling lakeshore and mountain view lots. The beaches of Lakota and Ideal were given to private development in the 1970s, including the Blue Water and Sweetwater developments. The State of Utah bought the far southeast beach for use as a State Park, and also operates a marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
on the lake's west side.
Environmental concerns have arisen with the ongoing development of the area. The lake is diked on the Idaho side and downstream Bear River water users use it as a reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
.
General information
Formed in a half graben valleyGraben
In geology, a graben is a depressed block of land bordered by parallel faults. Graben is German for ditch. Graben is used for both the singular and plural....
straddling the Idaho-Utah border, the lake has an approximate area of 109 square miles (282 km²) and sits at an elevation of 5924 feet (1,805.6 m) along the northeast side of the Wasatch Range
Wasatch Range
The Wasatch Range is a mountain range that stretches approximately from the Utah-Idaho border, south through central Utah in the western United States. It is generally considered the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Great Basin region...
and the east side of the Bear River Mountains
Bear River Mountains
The Bear River Mountains are located in northeastern Utah and southeastern Idaho. One of the mountains' sinks recorded the lowest temperature in Utah on February 1, 1985, at , which is also the second-lowest temperature ever recorded in the contiguous United States. U.S...
.
The lake and surrounding areas are a popular summer tourist destination. The lake has many marinas, beaches, and two tourist towns in Utah known as Garden City
Garden City, Utah
Garden City is a town in Rich County, Utah, United States. The population was 562 at the 2010 census. Garden City sits on the shores of Bear Lake and is a popular summer resort destination town.-History:...
and Laketown
Laketown, Utah
Laketown is a town in Rich County, Utah, United States. The population was 248 at the 2010 census. The town is named for nearby Bear Lake.-Geography:Laketown is located at ....
. It also has two state park
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
s, each named Bear Lake State Park: one in Idaho, one in Utah.
Bear Lake has a high rate of endemism
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
(species living naturally only in one place). Several species evolved in the lake's waters, but after the diversion of the Bear River into the lake, many of these have gone extinct. Remaining known endemic species of fish include the Bonneville cisco
Bonneville cisco
The Bonneville cisco is a species of cisco endemic to Bear Lake along the Utah-Idaho border, USA. It is one of three species of whitefish endemic to Bear Lake, the others being the Bear Lake whitefish and the Bonneville whitefish....
, Bonneville whitefish
Bonneville whitefish
The Bonneville whitefish is a salmonid fish endemic to Bear Lake on the Utah-Idaho border. It is one of three species of Prosopium endemic to Bear Lake, the other two being the Bear Lake whitefish and the Bonneville cisco...
, Bear Lake whitefish
Bear Lake whitefish
The Bear Lake whitefish Prosopium abyssicola is a salmonid fish endemic to Bear Lake on the Utah-Idaho border. It is one of three species of Prosopium endemic to Bear Lake, the other two being the Bonneville whitefish and the Bonneville cisco. The species is listed as a Wildlife Species of Concern...
, and Bear Lake sculpin
Bear Lake sculpin
The Bear Lake sculpin, Cottus extensus, occasionally referred to incorrectly as a "bullhead", is a species of freshwater sculpin endemic to Bear Lake on the Utah-Idaho border. It is one of only four sculpins native to Utah, and the only extant lake-dwelling sculpin in Utah...
. Although other species have been introduced into the lake, few can reproduce successfully in the lake's waters, so it has not been affected as greatly as other lakes by invasive species.
Water from the lake is used for irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
in the nearby Bear Valley in southeast Idaho, and for recreational fishing
Recreational fishing
Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing, is fishing for pleasure or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is fishing for profit, or subsistence fishing, which is fishing for survival....
. The lake drains via the Bear River Outlet, completed in 1915 into the Bear River
Bear River (Utah)
The Bear River is a river, approximately long, in southwestern Wyoming, southeastern Idaho, and northern Utah, in the United States. The largest tributary of the Great Salt Lake, it drains a mountainous area and farming valleys northeast of the lake and southeast of the Snake River Plain...
which eventually flows into the northeast portion of Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its...
.
The climate in the valley is warm and dry during the summer, with first snowfall coming during the fall. Fog and snow are common during the winter. The lake is icebound during most winters and most of spring during freeze years.
Many locals from northern Utah, southern Idaho, and western Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
come to Bear Lake for summer vacations due to its proximity and abundance of recreational activities.
On the east side of the lake, Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
may take part in the Bear Lake Aquatics Base camp for one week from June through August.
Raspberry Days festival
Bear Lake has become famous for the surrounding valley's crops of raspberries and for the annual Raspberry Days festival held in Garden City to celebrate the harvest of raspberries, generally during the first week of August. This event is said to bring thousands of people from all over the world and features rodeoRodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
s, parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
s, fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
s, a craft fair
Fair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
, "Miss Berry Princess contest", raspberry recipe cookoff, a talent show
Talent show
A talent show is an event where participants perform their talent or talents of acting, singing, dancing, acrobatics, drumming, martial arts, playing an instrument, and other activities to showcase a unique form of talent, sometimes for a reward, trophy or prize...
, fun run
Fun run
A fun run is a friendly race that involves either road running or cross country running with participants taking part for their own enjoyment rather than competition. A fun run will usually be held to raise funds for a charity, with sponsors providing the revenue to cover organisational costs...
and concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s.