8 BULLETIN OF THE BURKAtT OF FISHERIES. 



Tlio sf mini lius rut i(s way tliroii-h the west ciul of the ilani. The upper cud of 

 tlic lake is siltiuy up rapidly, and it is a matter of hut a few years tuitil the lake as 

 such will have entirely disappeared. The sand delta is now extending out into the 

 lake in a series of fingers, with intervening channels, and the basin is already about 

 halfway silted up. Upon this delta at the upper end is a thick growth of young 

 cotton woods and willows. The greater pait of this silted-up area is only a few inches 

 above the surface of the water, and the water in the channels through it is only 18 

 inches £ir less in depth. The depth over a greater part of the lake is 6 to 10 feet, 

 and there is a dense growth of aquatic vegetation covering nearly all the lake from 

 the sand bars to the dam. This consists mostly of a species of I\jtamogeton, a 

 Bdtrachium, and various filamentous algse. The white water crowfoot {B. tricho- 

 phyllvm) is the most abundant species and covers the surface where the water is not 

 over 5 or 6 feet deep. In the lower end of the lake on the west side a large number 

 of logs have accumulated in sluggish water, forming a considerable jam, as well as a 

 favorite resort for the numerous suckers that inhabit the lake. The river for about 

 three-fourths of a mile lielow the lake is deep and sluggish, the depth being perhaps 

 6 to 10 feet. (PI. IV, figs. T and 8, pi. v, figs. 10 and 11.) 



About half a mile below Kern Lake is a smaller similar lake, known as " Little 

 Lake " or " Lower Kern Lake," which is said to have had a similar but earlier origin. 

 (PI. XIII, fig. 36.) It is al)out half a mile in diameter and is separated from the river 

 by a levee of sand and silt on its east side, the river flowing a straight course at the 

 base of the east wall of the canyon. The outlet of the lake is a small rivulet, which 

 cuts the levee at its southern end. 



LittJe Kern River. — This stream has its rise on the east and south slopes of 

 Mount Vandever and Mount Florence at Farewell Gap, flows southeast for about 20 

 miles, and joins the main Kern River south of Trout Meadow. The greater portion 

 of its course is through a considerable canyon, and the total descent is several thou- 

 sand feet. The stream was examined by us from its source down to the crossing of 

 the Hockett trail just below the mouth of Wet Meadow- Creek. The stream is made 

 up of a succession of falls, cascades, and rapids, with occasional more quiet reaches 

 between. The majority of the falls would not seriously interfere with the free move- 

 ment of trout, but there are at least two just below the Broder cabin which fish can 

 not now ascend. The stream, however, has trout throughout itis entire course and 

 doubtless became stocked before the falls wore down to their present proportions. 



Above the crossing of the Hoi'kett trail the Little Kern is a poor trout stream 

 until the falls are reached. The bed is of gi'avel and the pools are shallow. The falls 

 consist of a series of steep slides and vertical falls, all close together, the total height 

 being al)out 100 feet. No fall in this portion of the stream is sheer at high water 

 for more than 5 feet. A half mile above these falls are several others w hich individ- 

 ually are as high as the fii"st falls, but their combined height is less. Above the 

 second falls the pools are larger and deeper and the stream is much better for trout. 

 The fall of this creek is about 400 feet to the mile. At Broder's cabin the volume 

 was a])Out 15,000 gallons per minute. (PI. iii, figs. .5 and 6.) 



Wet Meado'w Creek is a small western tributary of the Little Kern. It rises 

 just south of Mount Vandever and joins the Little Kern near the crossing of the 

 Hockett trail. It is for most of its lenath a (luiet stream t)nlv a few vards or feet 



