86 Proceedings of Indidna Academy of Science 



years ago according to the testimony of early settlers. Thus the decline 

 of the lakes began long ago. However, the old shore lines, with their 

 small terraces and small wave-cut cliffs, on which stand large trees 

 whose lake side roots are deformed by ice and wave action, remain as 

 mute testimony to the survey of 1829 when the extent of these lakes 

 v.'as as shown in figure 2. 



Relation of Original Lakes to Present Lakes. Since the overland 

 channel of Clear Lake has been closed the entire drainage of these lakes 

 has been underground. A survey of 1847 shows the area of the lakes 

 very greatly reduced from that of 1829 and the area at present is much 

 smaller than that of 1847. The areas of the two lakes shown by the 

 suivey of 1829 and the areas of their present remnants as determined 

 by planimeter from figure 2 are as follows: 



North Lake of 1829 1.388 sq. mi. North Pine Lake .167 sq. mi. 



South Pine Lake . 275 sq. mi. 



Total .442 sq. mi. 



Per cent of former lake 81 . 4 



South Lake of 1829 1.317 sq. mi. Stone Lake .196 sq. mi. 



Lily Lake .020 sq. mi. 



Clear Lake . 135 sq. mi. 



Lower Lake .035 sq. mi. 



Total .386 sq. mi. 



Per cent of former lake 29 . 3 



From this we find that the areas of the two original lakes were 

 very near the same and that the present remnants are not far different 

 from each other, each representing about 30 pei- cent of the original. 

 The levels of the remnants are fairly uniform. It is interesting that 

 / North Pine Lake is the lowest of the gi'oup and each lake of the cres- 

 cent is slightly higher until Lower Lake at the other end of the cres- 

 cent which is the highest. The following figures show the elevations of 

 the various lakes as determined by Burtis Thomas, City Engineer of 

 LaPorte, in December, 1921, and my own check en North Pine and Clear 

 lakes in June, 1922, during a severe drought: 



Lower Lake 792.75 feet (Thomas) 



Clear Lake 791.76 feet (Thomas) 791.62 feet (Check) 



Lily Lake 791.31 feet (Thomas) 



Stone Lake 790.40 feet (Thomas) 



South Pine Lake 789.58 feet (Thomas) 



North Pine Lake 789.31 feet (Thomas) 788.59 feet (Check) 



Figure 3 shows the elevation of Lily Lake from 18i)8 to 1914, in- 

 clusive. The record of the lake level was kept by the city waterworks 

 employes for each day during this period. The elevation indicated for 

 any year on this graph was derived by averaging the level readings 

 for the first day of each month during the year. The monthly fluctua- 

 tions were slight so that this gives a comparatively accurate elevation 

 for the year. To convert these readings to the datum of sea level add 

 762.32 feet. This graph shows that Lily Lake fluctuated in this period 



