Full Springs Flow into Lake Basin
Currently, the lake is partially frozen and the snow is mostly melted from the pre-Christmas snowstorm.  Did you know more than 60 above & underground springs feed into the lake bed?  They are roaring with the recent snow melt and will greatly help to raise the lake level.  Let's see what happens the rest of the winter!  For lake updates, please visit our blog or our Facebook page.

January 25, 2010

Where has the Lake Gone?

Recent years have revealed a pattern in the water level of Mountain Lake that was presumed to be a new phenomenon of water “draining” from this basin. Further study by our researchers has uncovered what has proven to be an ancient pattern of cycles that leave the water level of Mountain Lake both “up” and “down” for extended periods of time. The reason has to do with how much water Mother Nature gives us in the form of snowfall.

Here is how it works:

The basin upon which the waters of Mountain Lake sit is made up of four different rock substrates... Ordovician Martinsburg Shale, Ordovician Juniata Sandstone, Silurian Clinch Sandstone & Quaternary Colluvium...and their corresponding fault lines.  It is fed entirely by springs and ground water from the surrounding mountaintop and basin - at nearly 4,000 feet above sea level. So, it's remarkable that a lake even exists here when you think of the implications of it lying on the top of a lot of cracks and on top of a mountain!

Water has been flowing into this mountaintop basin for 8 or 10,000 years, but it probably never stayed for very long. Then, about 6,000 years ago, the rocks at the north end of the lake slid down from the surrounding mountaintop, creating a semi-permeable "dam" at that site, resulting in a more bowl-like structure for this basin. With the new layout of the basin, outflow of water would now take longer, resulting in the creating of a pond or lake as water accumulated faster than it could leave.   

What keeps the lake "full" is the amount of water that flows into the lake from groundwater, e.g. rain & melted snow. Dry years equal less input; wet years equal more input.

When we have a "dry" season, less water flows into the lake while water is still flowing out, causing the lake to look like we've pulled the plug! All year long, the lake's water level fluctuates according to the amount of rainfall we've had up here.

So, whether there's a "full pond" or "low pond", this basin on top of salt pond mountain is naturally wet and dry.  

Please visit our website by clicking the link below and our Conservancy Visitor's Center (located next to the Gift Shop) to learn more about Mountain Lake, it's unique cycles and the surrounding ecosystem! 

  The Mountain Lake Conservancy's purpose is to further Mary Moody Northen's desire to forge bonds between people and nature in Mountain Lake's unique environment.