Talk:Clear Lake (California)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 23 January 2020 and 22 May 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Elizreece. Peer reviewers: Walshkj.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 17:48, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Comment
Would it be helpful to include more detailed information regarding the natural eutrophication and nutrient cycling of the lake? Elizreece (talk) 03:32, 15 February 2020 (UTC)

As a non Californian, it would be nice to see a california map with the locale marked Koibeatu (talk) 14:04, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

Yes! That is an excellent idea. They should be merged and references should be cited for the article. By the way, if you type four of these " ~ " your message will be signed automatically. That is nice for communicating.Shoeginger 23:38, 18 February 2006 (UTC)

It has occurred to me to go through this article, moving much of the content to the Lake County, California article, keeping only the content which refers to the lake itself. I don't know when I would have the time to do this. Any comments?

Would it be helpful to link to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearlake ? Lakelover 18:41, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

No, it's much smaller than Tahoe.

Is Clear Lake larger than Lake Tahoe? RickK 03:45, 18 Feb 2004 (UTC)

This article references the Cache_Creek%2C_California article, but that Cache Creek is in Southern California, and is not feed by Clear Lake.

Here's a few links to the other Cache Creek:
 * CACHE CREEK NATURAL AREA - BLM/Ukiah
 * Cache Creek Conservancy
 * The Putah-Cache Bioregion Project
 * Clear Lake and Cache Creek flow data/CA Dept. of Water Resources

Should I start a stub for the correct Cache Creek this article references? and will this Cache Creek be disambiguated by Category? --scupper 15:03, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I've dabbed it, so now you have a nice redlink to start from ;). There actually are four Cache Creeks in CA, but the other two appear to be small, so I didn't add them to Cache Creek, California (now a disamb page). Niteowlneils 05:57, 15 Feb 2005 (UTC)

In addition to all the communities named Clear Lake at Clear Lake (disambiguation), there are almost 300 lakes named Clear Lake in the US alone, according to USGS. Does this one really deserve primary disambiguation? There's even at least three "clear lake state park"s in the US (CA, IA, MI). Niteowlneils 12:47, 15 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Photos
I added a photo I took recently on vacation. Anyone able to find an aerial photo with a suitable license? - CFang 00:33, 5 August 2006 (UTC)


 * I'll add a PD landsat photo shortly. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 18:52, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

Disambiguation
I believe this article should change the title to Clear Lake, California and create a redirect from the Clear Lake title to the Clear Lake (disambiguation) article. There are many other lakes named Clear Lake. I believe none of them have more national or worldwide awareness than any of the rest. Thoughts? BuffaloChip97 02:18, 17 January 2007 (UTC)


 * The California body of water is certainly considerably larger than any of the other bodies of water. Most all of the populated areas are relatively tiny. Note also that the Clearlake, California is the city on the body of water -- if there is to be any change in name (and I don't think there should, but I also don't care that much), the body of water should be named Clear Lake (California), as that is the common naming convention for bodies of water in the U.S. to avoid confusion with populated places. older ≠ wiser 02:50, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Oldest lake?
Clear Lake is believed to be the oldest lake in North America, due to a geological fluke. Is this true? It's not cited and the Mono Lake (also in California) article says it's the oldest lake in the US ("formed at least 760,000 years ago"; also not cited). Both of these statements cannot be true, can they? Brian1078 18:12, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

See this article: http://www.des.ucdavis.edu/faculty/Richerson/AmpleCharms.pdf Page 24. It says 480,000 years, directly based on core samples taken by the USGS. The age given for Mono Lake is based on rough estimates of sediments above and below the largest Long Valley eruption ash layer--geologists are apparently arguing about this. If you can find some USGS geologists who can prove that Mono Lake has held water continuously for 480,000 years, you deserve some kind of award. --Eric Barbour 23:53, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

Please don't post Chamber of Commerce drivel here!
One thing I really hate is to see this article and the Lake County article being re-edited by local realtors and civic boosters, to make the place look better than it really is. I LIVE IN LAKEPORT. I have done a lot of reading on the lake's history and I can assure you, it's NOT a paradise. If it were, the lakeshore would already be lined with high-rise condos. Clear Lake is isolated, has poor highways, has a poor water supply for development, has no major water-treatment plant (and no money to build one), lots of poverty, and a climate that is a lot harsher than the bay area--hotter in the summer, colder and wetter in the winter. The geology is an incredible mess, so it's not a good place to build infrastructure. Yes, the lake stinks in the summer, and gnats and mosquitoes are like a biblical plague at times. Why do I live here? Because it's rural, quiet, has clean air, and I'm willing to put up with the plagues. Unfortunately, housing is cheaper than in Sonoma or Napa, so shallow lifestyle freaks buy second homes here--driving prices up. So please, don't post any more puffery. (sorry, i had to unload somewhere.)

One thing I do recommend is to change the article name to Clear Lake, California. If I could figure out how, I'd do it. --Eric Barbour 00:19, 4 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Eric, You forgot to mention that it is also a Superfund cleanup site, due to the mercury mines. Whether or not that fact is encyclopedic, I'm not sure. Marcia Wright (talk) 14:31, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

biggest lake
This article says clear lake is the largest in California. Salton Sea is a natural lake, entirely in California, and its surface area is much larger -- 974 km vs. Clear Lake's 190.

Clear Lake is the largest fresh water lake completely in California. The Salton Sea has a higher salinity than the Pacific. That also excludes Mono Lake, which is about the same size as Clear Lake according to Wikipedia. Dunbur (talk) 01:58, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

NPOV and citation concerns
This article needs some serious work. The Pollution section needs citations and does not represent a neutral POV. The smell of algae should not be described as "overpowering," and having resided in Lake County for 5 years, I have to say that's not really fair anyway. Also, the paragraph concerning the gnats needs to be cleaned up and sourced TennysonXII (talk) 12:17, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

Sailboat accident /death
This has no place in this encyclopedia article. I'm going to remove it. Marcia Wright (talk) 23:43, 28 August 2009 (UTC)

The danger posed to visitors by the selectively enforced navigation laws is a real issue.

So is the boycott that is being mounted against the Clear Lake Wineries. Since boating is no less recreational or business orietned than wineries —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.63.11.140 (talk) 20:55, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Marcia What is your relationship to the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce? NONE

Do you have any sort of relationship with the Clear Lake Sherriff's department? NO

Please answer these questions so that we might have a better understanding of the bias you are showing in your edittin. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.112.151.87 (talk) 20:18, 15 September 2009 (UTC)
 * I do, however, have a sailboat and canoe, both of which I have sailed/paddled on the lake. I do, also, have an opinion on the event in question as well as many other subjects about this county BUT, my opinion, also, has no place in a Wikipedia article. A separate article regarding the boating accident (including the sheriff's  "committee" of Whitney, Larson and P. Murphy) is my suggestion. This is all I'm going to say to someone who won't sign their comments. SIGNED, Marcia Wright (talk) 11:12, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Reopening 'Disambiguation'
I'd like to re-open the "Disambiguation" discussion. "Clear Lake" should go directly to the disambig article. There is no reason to think that this lake in California is particularly more notable at a world level than some other uses of the term. Frankly, at a national level I would expect people would be more likely to think of the main NASA facility before thinking about California. Regardless the California lake is not particularly well-known outside California (its scientific uniqueness notwithstanding) so giving it top-billing here seems inappropriate.

--Mcorazao (talk) 15:40, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
 * By your argument, I would tend to agree with you. Marcia Wright (talk) 12:47, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

Requeted move
Clear Lake → Clear Lake (California) — - The California lake is not especially notable compared to some other uses of the name (notably Clear Lake (Galveston Bay) where Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center is located). --Mcorazao (talk) 16:40, 30 October 2009 (UTC)


 * OK, this debate, which was started in the previous section, has been sitting for a long time so I went ahead and did it myself. --Mcorazao (talk) 15:12, 4 November 2009 (UTC)


 * Please do not move by copying and pasting. You need to follow the directions at WP:Requested moves. The move never appeared on that page and thus there was no discussion because no one knew about it. older ≠ wiser 02:42, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

Water level and water rights
There was no mention of water rights, and control of the water level -- Solano decree, Grigsby Riffle, Rumsey Level etc. Might be worth a new section. Alanf777 (talk) 22:11, 9 February 2014 (UTC)


 * I added a new section. It seemed to follow naturally after "history". Alanf777 (talk) 23:08, 10 February 2014 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure if the sentence "The recordings were incorporated in a report to the US Senate in 1902." is significant enough to include. But the report itself should stay as a REF, as it has more background on Rumsey etc. Alanf777 (talk) 01:23, 12 February 2014 (UTC)
 * I took it out and left the REF. I think I've finished with this section. I also made changes to Cache Creek Alanf777 (talk) 20:09, 17 February 2014 (UTC)

Other Sections
I think that "environmental issues" should include a neutral description of the recurring Algae problem (see notes on NPOV above). Some other issues are also now covered by the "water rights" section, so I'll do some clean-up and consolidation. Alanf777 (talk) 20:06, 17 February 2014 (UTC)
 * The extinction of the Clear Lake splittail also needs to be included. This species was destroyed by overfishing and introduced species.. 2601:441:4400:1740:59FE:1D97:230C:B58 (talk) 17:47, 1 June 2021 (UTC)

Misc
I undid "The Clear Lake Catfish Massacre of 2010 was determined to be a parasite from the E.G. brought to the lake by Chicago native Starletta Star." Makes no sense .. probable vandalism.
 * Might not have been vandalism. Maybe there was a large fish die-off in 2010 caused by an introduced parasite. Obviously it would need verification (and understandable writing!) to include in the article. 2601:441:4400:1740:59FE:1D97:230C:B58 (talk) 17:46, 1 June 2021 (UTC)

"Lypoyomi"
It's not clear to me at all how "Lypoyomi" should actually work out as a transcription of a Pomo name; and while the cited source (a less-than-trustworthy 'fun facts' kind of page) claims it means 'big water', neither of the Eastern Pomo words for 'big' or 'water' listed as comparative data here - https://starlingdb.org/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=new100&morpho=0&basename=new100%5Chok%5Cpom&limit=-1 - even remotely resemble "lypoyomi". Is there a better and more illuminating source for the native Pomo name for this lake? 67.198.30.42 (talk) 21:48, 27 February 2023 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: California Natural History
— Assignment last updated by BombusBear (talk) 21:51, 10 October 2023 (UTC)