Lake Elsinore
| Lake Elsinore | |
|---|---|
Shore of Lake Elsinore.
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| Location | Riverside County, California |
| Coordinates | 33°39′33″N 117°20′57″W / 33.65917°N 117.34917°W |
| 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 countries | United States |
| Max. length | 6 mi (9.7 km) (max) |
| Max. width | 1.5 mi (2.4 km) (max) |
| Surface area | 2,993 acres (1,211 ha) (normal) 3,452 acres (1,397 ha) (full) |
| Average depth | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
| Max. depth | 42 ft (13 m) |
| Water volume | 41,700 acre·ft (51,400 dam3) (normal) 89,900 acre·ft (110,900 dam3) (full) |
| Shore length1 | 14 mi (23 km) |
| Surface elevation | 1,240 ft (380 m) (normal) 1,255 ft (383 m) (full) |
| Settlements | Lake Elsinore, Lakeland Village |
| 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, 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, now Lake Elsinore, established on its northeastern shore on April 9, 1888.
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), at the terminus of the San Jacinto River. It is the terminal lake of a partially closed basin called the San Jacinto Basin.
Lake levels are healthy at an average of 1,244 ft (379 m) (above sea level) with a volume of 30,000 acre·ft (37,000,000 m3) that often fluctuates, although much has been done recently to prevent the lake from drying up, flooding, or becoming stagnant.
At 1,255 ft (383 m), the lake will spill into the outflow channel on its northeastern shore, known properly as Temescal Wash, flowing northwest through Temescal Canyon and feeding Alberhill Creek, which joins Temescal Creek, which in turn dumps into the Santa Ana River just northwest of Corona.
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. 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:
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