Goose Lake

Goose Lake is a large alkaline lake in the Goose Lake Valley on the Oregon–California border in the United States. Like many other lakes in the Great Basin, it is a pluvial lake that formed from precipitation and melting glaciers during the Pleistocene epoch. The north portion of the lake is in Lake County, Oregon, and the south portion is in Modoc County, California. The mountains at the north end of the lake are part of the Fremont National Forest, and the south end of the lake is adjacent to Modoc National Forest lands. Most of the valley property around the lake is privately owned agricultural land, though Goose Lake State Recreation Area is on the Oregon side of the lake. Goose Lake is the center of a semi-closed drainage basin. Its watershed is normally endorheic, but sometimes flows into the Pit River, part of the Sacramento River watershed, during periods of high water following heavy rainfall or snowmelt. During the 1970s and 1980s, the USGS defined Goose Lake as part of the Sacramento's watershed, but has redefined Goose Lake's watershed as a closed basin.