Wallowa Lake

Wallowa Lake
Wallowa Lake with the Wallowa Mountains in the background
Location	Wallowa County, Oregon
Coordinates	45°18′32″N 117°12′38″W / 45.30889°N 117.21056°W / 45.30889; -117.21056Coordinates: 45°18′32″N 117°12′38″W / 45.30889°N 117.21056°W / 45.30889; -117.21056
Type	Natural, oligotrophic, with dam
Primary inflows	Wallowa River
Primary outflows	Wallowa River
Catchment area	51 square miles (130 km2)
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	3.5 miles (5.6 km)
Max. width	0.75 miles (1.21 km)
Surface area	1,508 acres (610 ha)
Average depth	161 feet (49 m)
Max. depth	299 feet (91 m)
Water volume	243,500 acre feet (300,400,000 m3)
Residence time	2.5 years
Shore length1	8.2 miles (13.2 km)
Surface elevation	4,372 ft (1,333 m)
Settlements	Joseph
References
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Wallowa Lake is a ribbon lake 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Joseph, Oregon, United States, at an elevation of 4,372 ft (1,333 m). Impounded by high moraines, it was formed by a series of glaciers. On the south end of the lake is a small community made up of vacation homes, lodging, restaurants, as well as other small businesses. Wallowa Lake has been used for recreation since at least 1880. The Wallowa Lake State Park is at the southern tip of the lake.

Wallowa Lake has been used in Geology text books as an example of a lake dammed by moraines. These moraines begin well below the water's surface and climb to over 900 ft (270 m) above the lake. Before the glacial till compounded enough to form the moraines that currently surround the lake, a large alluvial fan was present in the valley. This fan was created by the Wallowa River transporting debris into the valley. The sediment left by the river was pushed by a series of glaciers that advanced north into the valley. As they pushed the debris, they also dug deep into the earth. Though the number of glaciers that formed the moraines is debated, the most accepted hypothesis is that eight or nine glaciers formed the walls that now dam the lake. The last glacier advanced into the valley about 17,000 years ago and is known as the Wallowa Glacier. Its moraines form much of the lake shore. Near Glacier Lake, high in the surrounding mountains, is evidence of several subsequent glacier advances. Occurring subsequent to the formation of Wallowa Lake, these did not reach the location of the lake. The oldest of these was 11,000–10,000 years before present.

The Wallowa Lake area was inhabited by the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce tribe prior to the exploration of the area and the formation of the U.S. State of Oregon. The lake and its surrounding area was guaranteed to the Nez Perce as part of the Treaty of 1855. This lasted until the discovery of gold in the area and the subsequent rush. Conflict with miners and other trespassers resulted in new treaty negotiations in 1863, in which American agents aimed to shrink the reservation and exclude the Wallowa country from its boundaries. The Wallowa Nez Perce rejected the proposed treaty and refused to sign. However, chiefs from bands unaffected by the new boundaries, from the areas that remained within the reservation, did sign, placing the Wallowa band outside the reservation. By 1877, pressures from non-Indian settlers provoked violence, including the murder of Idahoans by some young Nez Perce warriors. Rather than submit to American notions of justice, Young Joseph led the Wallowas away from their homeland. After the war, the U.S. Government took the land and allowed it to be settled. This led to the formation of many of the nearby towns that still exist today.