Clearwater Lakes Alliance Information
~ Clearwater Lake~
Clearwater Lake, photo by: Montana Wilderness Association
Figure 1: Clearwater Lake, the northernmost lake in the Clearwater Basin.
As one of the most remote lakes in the Clearwater Watershed, Clearwater Lake is beautifully turquoise in color and can be reached by car only during the warmer spring and summer months. Clearwater is the northernmost lake in our Adopt-a-Lake program, and has a completely undeveloped shoreline, allowing it to remain relatively pristine (see figure 1).
Clearwater Lake is fed by a stream entering its north shore, sourcing about 2 miles to the northeast, around the Ptarmigan Point area (at about 9,083 feet in elevation). The Clearwater River, also on Clearwater Lake’s north shore, connects this body of water to Rainy Lake, which is approximately 3 miles southwest of Clearwater, as the crow flies.
This lake has been monitored through CRC’s Adopt-a-Lake program for the past decade. It consistently boasts the clearest waters of the 8 monitored lakes, as evidenced by the deep Secchi measurements (see figure 2). The typical Secchi depth range for this lake is between 20 and 30 feet, much deeper than any of the other lakes, establishing its trophic status well within the “oligotrophic” depth boundary (see figure 3).
Figure 2: Secchi transparencies (depth) recorded at a single site in Clearwater Lake, 2009 through 2019.
Figure 3: Secchi depths recorded at 15 sites on 8 lakes in the Clearwater Watershed, 2009 through 2019. The red and green lines represent the bounds for transparencies considered indicative of eutrophic and oligotrophic conditions, respectively.
Because Clearwater Lake is undeveloped, remote, and has shown no sign of decreasing water quality, we will not be monitoring this body of water in 2020. Clearwater Lake may be monitored again in the future.
Establishing baseline monitoring data through our Adopt-a-Lake program is only the start. Contact CRC’s Jon Haufler ( jon@crcmt.org) to learn more about current efforts and/or how you can get involved.
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