12 THE LIFE OF DEVILS LAKE 



shore which have found foothold in small depressions formed above 

 the small sand beaches thrown up by the waves, where a little 

 moisture gathers (plate 3). 



Between 1867 and 1901 more or less well authenticated data are 

 available on the levels of Devils Lake, while since the latter date 

 a gauge has been maintained and numerous yearly readings are on 

 record. Figure 1 shows graphically the lake levels from the date 

 of the A stage to the present, the former being unknown, and the 

 rest of the earlier ones being only approximate. 



In spite of our record of the steady fall of the Devils-Stump 

 Lake complex, there is considerable evidence of an earlier, still 

 lower, stage than the present. Stump Lake derives its name from 

 the remains of an old forest which once occupied its floor. Many 

 of these stumps are still standing, while many others exist as fallen 

 logs (plate 5). A few of these logs occur in Devils Lake, but they 

 are most numerous in Stump Lake. This forest must necessarily 

 postdate the glacial epoch, the termination of which in this region 

 is marked by the A beach. The period of lower level, perhaps of 

 absolute dryness of the lake must then have succeeded that of the 

 A stage. On the other hand, history and tradition testify to the 

 existence of a stage at least approximating that of the B stage with- 

 in recorded time. How high the lakes rose, and at what time, after 

 their lowest period; whether the beaches from the B downward were 

 developed before or after such periods, or partly both, we have no 

 certain knowledge. It seems most likely however that the prominent 

 B beach was developed before such a low period ensued, rather than 

 later, as the supply of the lake was more likely to have been held 

 constant for a longer period at that time, while recent changes have 

 been relatively rapid. 



Other evidence of the existence of a former lower lake level are 

 the rocky islands in both Devils and Stump Lakes. The fact that 

 these islands until recently were below the lake surface and yet are 

 largely the work of ice shows that they must have been formed dur- 

 ing a period of lower level. 



This evidence corresponds moreover with that from other 

 sources regarding climatic changes in the past. 



Thus Huntington (1914) and others by means of measurements 

 of the annual rings of growth of the Sequoias, have alread.y demon- 

 strated alternate periods of moisture and aridity in California dur- 

 ing three thousand years. Similar evidence has been adduced from 

 the former shore lines of lakes in different parts of the world 

 (Huntington 1915 et. al.) and from the rise and fall of ancient 

 civilizations, as indicated by both historic and archaeologic evidence 

 (Huntington, 1. c). 



