Will the former largest lake in the western U.S. fill again?

[Glenn MacGrady]

"Tulare Lake once was the largest lake in the western U.S., but was drained in the late 1800s and claimed for agriculture. Heavy rains in the Sierra Nevada range on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley in early 2023 have swollen its historic feeder rivers and streams, refilling portions of the usually dry lakebed."

How long could a refilled Tulare Lake stick around? The answer lies in the Corcoran clay

 

[Black_Fly]

Divert it to lake mead.

 

[Tryin']

Divert it to lake mead.

That would be quite the feat.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

"In this San Joaquin Valley city of 22,500, where already the famously dry Tulare Lake is being revived by mountain runoff, water is lapping against the levees that stand between the farm town and flooding. Some say it’s only a matter of time before the water spills over, submerging Corcoran as well as the state prison there."

Long-dead California lake now ‘looks like the ocean,’ threatens to submerge entire city

Water from once-dead Tulare Lake is lapping at the levees in the San Joaquin Valley...

www.sfchronicle.com

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

"Birds Flock to a Resurrected Tulare Lake, Peaking at Nearly the Size of Lake Tahoe"​

"Tulare Lake and nearby floodwaters could stick around for over a year, providing ample wetland habitat for birds in the southern Central Valley."​

Birds Flock to a Resurrected Tulare Lake, Peaking at Nearly the Size of Lake Tahoe -

The resurrected Tulare Lake surged back to life with this winter’s historic rains, creating plentiful bird habitat in the southern Central Valley for ibises, cliff swallows, black-necked stilts, tri-colored blackbirds, egrets, western sandpipers, curlews, long-billed dowitchers, and more.

baynature.org

 

[Marten]

An added problem is that so much groundwater has been pumped that the area has sunk so it has been a race to get the levees built back to the previous distance above sea level.

 

[Black_Fly]

Greed ruined the West. It won’t recover in our lifetimes.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

"Sisco and other Indigenous leaders say they believe Tulare Lake should be allowed to remain rather than being drained once again to reestablish agriculture, as was done so many times before, including after floods in 1969, 1983 and 1997. They say allowing it to stay would improve life in the valley by providing water storage and allowing the area’s original ecosystem to take root again."

'This water needs to be protected': California tribe calls for preservation of Tulare Lake

The Tachi Yokut Tribe is celebrating the return of California’s Tulare Lake, saying water should remain to heal an ecosystem that was drained for agriculture.

www.latimes.com

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

The continuing saga of Tulare Lake, of great interest to the canoeists in Kings County, CA.

The lake has now receded from covering about 120,000 acres to 70,000 acres, but may take as long as two years to dry up because the clay layer under the ground is so impermeable.

A look at Tulare Lake through Kings County's new airboat

A number of atmospheric rivers this past winter brought Tulare Lake back to life but at a cost to local farmers and people living in the area.

abc30.com