Crump Lake is a shallow lake in the Warner Valley of eastern Lake County, Oregon, United States. The lake covers . It is the largest of the Warner Lakes system. The lake is named for pioneer rancher Thomas Crump. Crump Lake is owned by the Oregon Department of State Lands. Much of the land around the lake is administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The lake and the surrounding wetlands support a wide variety of birds and other wildlife. Recreational opportunities on or near Crump Lake include fishing, bird watching, and camping.
Geography
Crump Lake is located north of the unincorporated community of Adel, Oregon at the southern end of the Warner Valley in south-central Oregon."Crump Lake", Bird Research Northwest, a joint project of Oregon State University, United States Geological Survey, and Real Time Research Incorporated, Bend, Oregon, 29 September 2013.United States Geological Survey topographic map, ACME mapper, www.acme.com, March 29, 2009. The valley is approximately long and wide. Most of the valley is in Lake County, however the north end of the valley extends about into Harney County. It is an alluvial basin containing numerous lakes, remnants of a single great lake that covered the valley floor up to deep during the Pleistocene epoch. Today, steep cliffs rise above a chain of endorheic lakes including Crump Lake, known collectively as Warner Lakes. The valley has two regions commonly referred to as South Warner Valley and North Warner Valley. The two areas transition between Crump Lake in the south and Hart Lake to the north at a point where the valley narrows to about in width.Whistler, John T. and John H. Lewis, "Location and General Conditions", Warner Valley and White River Projects, United States Reclamation Service, United States Department of Interior in cooperation with the State of Oregon, Washington D.C., February 1916, pp. 16–19."Crump Lake (Lake County)", Atlas of Oregon Lakes, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, accessed 29 April 2016.Johnson, Daniel M., "Crump Lake", Atlas of Oregon Lakes, Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, Oregon, 1985, p. 84.Warner Wetlands Area of Critical Environmental Concern, Lakeview District, Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of Interior, Lakeview, Oregon, August 26, 2005.
There are numerous lakes in the Warner Lakes chain. Starting at the south end of the valley, the Warner Lakes are Pelican Lake, Crump Lake, Hart Lake, Anderson Lake, Swamp Lake, Mugwump Lake, Flagstaff Lake, Upper Campbell Lake, Lower Campbell Lake, Stone Corral Lake, Turpin Lake, and Bluejoint Lake. The valley slopes toward the north. As a result, the elevation of Crump Lake is higher than Bluejoint Lake. Ultimately, the Warner Lakes system has no outlet so its waters eventually evaporate from the lake surfaces and associated wetlands.McArthur, Lewis A. and Lewis L. McArthur, "Warner Valley", Oregon Geographic Names (Seventh Edition), Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland, Oregon, 2003, p. 1010-1011.Jackman, E.R. and R.A. Long,The Oregon Desert, Canton Press, Caldwell, Idaho: 1964, p. 361.
History
Native Americans used the Warner Valley's lakes and wetland for thousands of years before the first white explorers arrived. There are ancient Native American petroglyphs near Crump Lake, some are estimated to be 12,000 years old. The Greaser Petroglyph Site, located approximately southeast of Crump Lake, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places."Cultural Resources", Summary of the Analysis of the Management Situation for the Lakeview Resource Area – Resource Management Plan, Lakeview Field Office, Lakeview District, Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of Interior, Lakeview, Oregon, July 2000, pp. 2.28–29."Greaser Petroglyph Site", Focus Digital Asset Management System, National Information Services Center, National Park Service, United States Department of Interior, Lakewood, Colorado, accessed 30 April 2016.
In 1867, General George Crook decided to build a fort in the Warner Valley to prevent Indian raiding parties from passing through the area. To get his wagons across the wetlands, he directed a bridge be built across a narrow, marshy channel between Crump Lake and Hart Lake. Forty soldiers of the 23rd Infantry Regiment under the command of Captain James Henton were assigned the task. The bridge was constructed between 16 May and 24 July 1867. Known as the Stone Bridge, it was actually a quarter mile long causeway constructed by hauling basalt boulders and smaller rocks from the slopes of nearby Hart Mountain and dumping them into the marsh. Today, the Stone Bridge across the Warner wetlands still exists. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places."Stone Bridge and the Oregon Central Military Wagon Road", National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form, National Register of Historic Places, United States Park Service, United States Department of Interior, Washington, D.C., August 13, 1974.McArthur, Lewis A. and Lewis L. McArthur, "Stone Bridge", Oregon Geographic Names (Seventh Edition), Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland, Oregon, 2003, p. 916.Bach, Melva M., "Camp Warner Moved to Honey Creek – 1867", History of the Fremont National Forest, Fremont National Forest, United States Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Lakeview, Oregon, 1981, p. 14.
Crump Lake is named for Thomas Crump (1854–1939), a pioneer rancher who settled near the lake in the 1890s.McArthur, Lewis A. and Lewis L. McArthur, "Crump Lake", Oregon Geographic Names (Seventh Edition), Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland, Oregon, 2003, p. 257. In 1959, a well drilled on the Crump Ranch approximately southwest of the lake created Crump Geyser. Water from the geyser drains into a wetland channel that feeds into the lake.Williams, C. E., "Geologist Believes Crump Geyser Should be Saved" , Lake County Examiner, Lakeview, Oregon, 6 August 1959."The Crump Geyser—Spouted Becomes True Geyser, Spouts 100 Feet" , Lake County Examiner, Lakeview, Oregon, 9 June 1960.Peterson, Norman V., "Lake County’s New Continuous Geyser", The Ore-Bin (Volume 21, No. 9), Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, Portland, Oregon, September 1959, p. 83.
Originally, there was a small island near the center of Crump Lake used by nesting water birds. During a drought period in the 1950s, the island was scoured away by heavy equipment being used to unearth Native American artifacts. In the 1990s, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife attempted to restore the island, but wind and wave action quickly eroded it away again. In 2008, the United States Army Corps of Engineers built a nesting site at the location of the original island. It was specifically designed to resist erosion and the surface was covered with sand and gravel to create nesting habitat for Caspian terns. Since its completion, the new island has become a successful nested site for terns and other water birds.
In 2015, the Oregon Department of State Lands closed Crump Lake to the public because several years of drought had dramatically reduced the lake's water level. The closure was intended to protect the lakebed from looting by cultural artifact hunters. This temporary closure was lifted in October 2016, as state officials determined water levels to be improved."State lifts closure for Hart, Crump and Goose lakes", news release 15-02, Oregon Department of State Lands, Salem, Oregon, 26 January 2015."Hart and Crump lakes now open to the public", news release 16-14, Oregon Department of State Lands, Salem, Oregon, 4 October 2016.
Lake environment
Crump Lake is a natural lake that covers . It is approximately long and wide, making it the largest of the Warner Lakes under normal conditions. The lake has an average depth of with a maximum depth of . It received a steady flow of fresh water from Deep Creek and Twelvemile Creek which helps to stabilize the water level in the lake. It also receives excess water from Pelican Lake through a series of marshy channels. The outflow from Crump Lake drains north into Hart Lake through a narrow wetland channel.Phillips, Kenneth N., and A. S. Van Denburgh, "Water Supply", Hydrology and Geochemistry of Abert, Summer, and Goose Lakes, and Other Closed-Basin Lakes in South-Central Oregon, United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 502-B, United States Geological Survey, Washington, District of Columbia, 1971, p. B-38.
The water clarity in Crump Lake is murky due to the presence of suspended organic particles. Sodium and potassium are the most abundant of the dissolved elements, together they comprise 46 percent of the dissolved-solids in the lake. However, because the lake overflows for several months during most years, Crump Lake has less turbidity than most closed-basin lakes. The water transparency is not a good indicator of the lake's trophic state. In fact, the amount of nutrients in the lake is very high with significant concentrations of phosphorus and chlorophyll indicating a hypereutrophic condition.Phillips, Kenneth N., and A. S. Van Denburgh, "Abstract", Hydrology and Geochemistry of Abert, Summer, and Goose Lakes, and Other Closed-Basin Lakes in South-Central Oregon, United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 502-B, Washington, District of Columbia, 1971, p. B-2.Phillips, Kenneth N., and A. S. Van Denburgh, "Dissolved Solids Concentration", Hydrology and Geochemistry of Abert, Summer, and Goose Lakes, and Other Closed-Basin Lakes in South-Central Oregon, United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 502-B, Washington, District of Columbia, 1971, p. B-42.
Ecology
Crump Lake provides a unique habitat for plants and animals. The main cliff face of Hart Mountain ends near the north end of the lake, providing a rim rock habitat in that area. The area along the lake's eastern shore is typical high desert scrubland dominated by big sagebrush. The areas to the south and west of the lake are mostly mashes, meadows, and grasslands. In these areas, marsh grasses are common along the lake shores. Common wildlife includes common high desert mammals, resident birds, and migrant waterfowl.Rakestraw, John, Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge and the Warner Valley, Morris Book Publishing: Kearney, Nebraska, 2007, pp. 20–22.
Crump Lake's native fish species include a Warner Valley subspecies of redband trout and the Warner sucker. The redband trout and a small population of Warner suckers are found in Twelvemile Creek as well as the lake. Redband trout are also found in Deep Creek. These stream-dwelling populations have likely been the source for re-colonizing Crump Lake after extended drought periods killed off the lake's fish populations. In addition to the native fish, crappie, smallmouth bass, and bullhead catfish have been introduced into the Crump Lake. These non-native species have put significant pressure on the native fish species. As a result, the Warner Valley redband trout and the Warner sucker are classified as threatened species."Distribution and Abundance of Threatened and Rare Native Fishes", Recovery Plan for the Native Fishes of the Warner Basin and Alkali Subbasin, Oregon State office, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of Interior, Portland, Oregon, April 1998, pp. 11–13, 15."Introduced Predaceous Fishes", Recovery Plan for the Native Fishes of the Warner basin and Alkali Subbasin, Oregon State office, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of Interior, Portland, Oregon, April 1998, pp. 28–30.