Hot Lake (Washington)

Hot Lake as viewed from the north, 7 July 2011.

Hot Lake is a hypersaline, meromictic lake located in extreme northern Okanogan County, Washington near Oroville, Washington.[1] Occupying a small, glacially-carved basin surrounded by mafic magnesian rocks, dolomites, and shales containing deposits of pyrite and pyrrholite minerals, Hot Lake is unusual among hypersaline lakes in that it is dominated by magnesium and sulfate as its major ions.[2] Because of its mineralogy, Hot Lake was mined for epsomite, initially by the Stewart-Calvert Company during World War I, when the importation of epsomite from Germany was suspended.[3] Major flora growing within the lake include Ruppia maritima[4] and Chara, and the dominant fauna are the brine shrimp Artemia salina and Branchinecta campestris.[1] A benthic phototrophic microbial mat dominated by cyanobacteria is also found within the lake.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Anderson GC (1958). "Some Limnological Features of a Shallow Saline Meromictic Lake" (PDF). Limnology and Oceanography 3 (3): 259–270. doi:10.4319/lo.1958.3.3.0259.
  2. ↑ Jenkins OP (1918). "Spotted Lakes of Epsomite in Washington and British Columbia". American Journal of Science 46: 638–644.
  3. ↑ St. John H, Courtney WD (1924). "The Flora of Epsom Lake". American Journal of Botany 11 (2): 100–107. doi:10.2307/2435492.
  4. ↑ McKay E (1935). "Salt tolerance of Ruppia maritima in lakes of high magnesium sulfate concentration". Plant Physiology 10: 425–446. doi:10.1104/pp.10.3.425.

Coordinates: 48°58′23″N 119°28′35″W / 48.97306°N 119.47639°W / 48.97306; -119.47639


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