Jump to content

Buckhorn Lake


olyclimber

Recommended Posts

Not sure what the story is with this lake, but it sure fluctuates a lot! 

I was there in the late 90s and camped out to it, a beautiful blue lake right below Mt Buckhorn.  It must have been earlier in spring, because the lake was full.

This past weekend, at the end of summer, it is shrunk to a little pond.   I think it must fill up and then empty by the end of each summer...even the google map imagery shows it full:

buckhornlake.jpg.ca6250681c1ad26a04b88c780a53f731.jpg

My photo from the late 90s...must have been late spring:

IMG_1921.jpg.f1eba49482950d58bee72733b97d50f1.jpg

(I loved that tent! I think it was a Northface Arrowhead. I wore it out.)

Yesterday:

IMG_1734.jpg.1eafd35033eacad0357d21bf71e4c0bd.jpgIMG_1748.jpg.11982ed80166df5bc42835065ec3f7da.jpgIMG_1759.jpg.d49382722d3ca2d76a767ca45f356120.jpg

 

I assume this is normal/it has been like this? Also weird:  this site describes it as a "glacial fed lake". 

http://www.protrails.com/trail/659/olympic-national-park-buckhorn-lake

What glacier? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 7
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

That is interesting. Caltopo has a daily satellite imagery... you could try tracking it.

I wonder if receding snow/galciers have exacerbated the yearly shrinkage. It is weird they call it glacial fed given your pictures and google map though. I would assume a glacial fed lake would have the characteristic suspended sediment.

I also wonder if a geologic shift has opened up more water flow to escape beneath the ground. Any earthquakes since that google imagery?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Google Earth allows you to look through historic satellite imagery too.  In Sept 2009 the lake was pretty low but all other imagery from summer into fall had it fairly full.  I'm not familiar with the Buckhorn area but I'd imagine it slowly drains throughout the summer and in years with low precip such as this it winds up close to empty.  Interestingly in 2009 there was a relatively decent amount of rain in Seattle, maybe the Buckhorn area was heavily rainshadowed that year?

Here is a link to NWS Seattle's recent Twitter post about Seattle rainfall that I referenced.  

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The projections I saw are that the Olympic glaciers will be gone within a few decades. Their low elevation is a key factor. That will have a devastating effect on the forests and environment as snowmelt provides water through the dry months. We will likely see more fires and changes to the natural environment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...