Mann Lake is the largest of the shallow playa lakes in the northern part of the Alvord Valley in Harney County in the U.S. state of Oregon. The lake is a remnant of a larger Pleistocene lake that covered much of the valley, east of Steens Mountain. Fields–Denio Road runs along the east side of the lake.[2]

Mann Lake
Mann Lake and Steens Mountain
Location of Mann Lake in Oregon, USA.
Location of Mann Lake in Oregon, USA.
Mann Lake
Location of Mann Lake in Oregon, USA.
Location of Mann Lake in Oregon, USA.
Mann Lake
LocationHarney County, Oregon
Coordinates42°46′20″N 118°26′49″W / 42.77222°N 118.44694°W / 42.77222; -118.44694
TypeNatural, hypereutrophic
Primary inflowsIntermittent streams
Primary outflowsEvaporation
Catchment area41 square miles (110 km2)
Basin countriesUnited States
Surface area276 acres (112 ha)
Average depth6 feet (1.8 m)
Max. depth14 feet (4.3 m)
Water volume1,600 acre-feet (2,000,000 m3)
Shore length12.4 miles (3.9 km)
Surface elevation4,173 feet (1,272 m)
SettlementsBurns; Fields
References[1][2][3]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Inflow to Mann Lake comes from small, intermittent streams, mainly from Steens Mountain. The lake, which has no outlet, but loses water by evaporation, is hypereutrophic. An influx of cattle waste from nearby rangelands adds to the lake's natural eutrophic state. Large concentrations of Cladophora algae are common.[2]

The Bureau of Land Management operates the Mann Lake Recreation Site, about 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Burns by highway and unpaved road. The site has vault restrooms and boat ramps, but no other amenities. Recreation at or near the site includes fishing, camping, hiking, wildlife viewing, and amateur geology.[4]

Mann Lake, stocked with Lahontan cutthroat trout, has been called "one of the premiere trout fisheries in southeast Oregon".[5] Trout in the lake range in length from 12 to 20 inches (30 to 51 cm).[5] Fishing is restricted to artificial flies and lures.[5]

A large population of goldfish, introduced illegally, have at times multiplied in Mann Lake and competed for food with the smaller trout.[5] In 2010, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife treated the lake with rotenone, a piscicide, killing around 200,000 goldfish and fathead minnows while sparing nearly all the trout.[6]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Johnson, Daniel M.; Petersen, Richard R.; Lycan, D. Richard; Sweet, James W.; Neuhaus, Mark E., and Schaedel, Andrew L. (1985). Atlas of Oregon Lakes. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press. p. 232. ISBN 0-87071-343-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b c "Atlas of Oregon Lakes: Mann Lake (Harney County)". Portland State University. 1985–2012. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
  3. ^ "Mann Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
  4. ^ "Alvord Desert/Mann Lake". Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d Sheehan, Madelynne Diness (April 2005). Fishing in Oregon: The Complete Oregon Fishing Guide (10th ed.). Scappoose, Oregon: Flying Pencil Publications. pp. 282–83. ISBN 0-916473-15-5.
  6. ^ Monroe, Bill (December 3, 2010). "Mann Lake Gets a Second Round of Rotenone for Cutthroat Restoration". The Oregonian. Oregon Live LLC. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2012.

External links edit