Orthophosphorous and total phosphorous are among the highest of the 

 sampled sites, and at the upper extreme of hydrologically similar 

 sites. Nitrate and ammonium concentrations were both below 

 detection limits. The total organic carbon concentration was also 

 the highest among this site type. 



Chemical history. No previous quantitative chemical analyses are 

 known for Kingsbury Lake. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service records 

 contain reference to two reported specific conductance measurements 

 of 32,000 and 39,000 microsiemens/cm, one dating from 1981 and the 

 other date unrecorded. Specific conductance in the eastern lake 

 arm (which includes WET31) exceeded 100,000 microsiemens per 

 centimeter in August 1994, indicating a twofold or greater seasonal 

 increase in specific conductance over the date of sample collection 

 two months earlier. It is likely that at least the eastern lake 

 arm has desiccated entirely within historic times. Elevated relict 

 shorelines indicate much more dilute conditions have prevailed at 

 times in the recent geologic (and possibly historical) past. The 

 general area is prone to developing saline seeps in cropped areas, 

 which possibly have contributed to the lake's present salt load. 



Spatial salinity gradients were observed in both horizontal and 

 vertical dimensions. In August of 1994, specific conductance 

 ranged from greater than 100,000 microsiemens/cm in the hypersaline 

 eastern arm down to 23,100 microsiemens/cm along the southern shore 

 of the western arm. It is likely that water near the Alder Creek 

 inflow was considerably more dilute still. Among vegetation mats 

 along the southern shore, a substantial vertical salinity gradient 

 was observed in shallow water, with specific conductance near the 

 lake bottom exceeding that at the surface by approximately 30%. 



Sediments. Kingsbury Lake sediments include a large component of 

 chemical precipitates, including both carbonates (inferred from HCl 

 reactivity and mineral saturation indices) and sulfates (inferred 

 from saturation indices and euhedral hand specimens). Bottom 

 sediments in the eastern arm are extremely sticky and reduced, with 

 a bituminous appearance beneath an oxidized surface layer. 



Extractable concentrations of boron are at the upper extreme for 

 hydrologically similar sites; other trace elements are typically 

 present in concentrations within the range of other hydrologically 

 and regionally similar sites. Boron exceeds the regional soils 

 average by a factor of six; zinc and copper exceed regional soils 

 means by a few percent. Other trace element concentrations are 

 below the regional soils means for those constituents. 



