SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 
23 
whitefish were found, the result can not be regarded as conclusive. The investigations 
should be resumed and continued until the whole lake can be carefully examined. 
The report upon the physical examination of the lake and upon the fish-food 
collected will be reserved until a more thorough study of this important body of water 
can be made. 
WALLOWA LAKE, OREGON. 
It has been known for several years that both the large and small redflsh have 
spawning-beds in the inlets of this lake, and that chiuook salmon spawn in Wallowa 
River and other streams in that region. A short visit was made to Wallowa Lake by 
Messrs. Meek and Maddren on August 19, and they remained there and on Wallowa 
River until August 26. 
Wallowa Lake is in the northeastern portion of Oregon and in the southern part 
of Wallowa County. It lies in the southern end of a considerable valley, which is 
bounded on the east, south, and west by the Powder River Mountains. This lake is of 
glacial origin, and is bordered on the east and west sides by immense lateral moraines, 
which rise about 1,200 feet above the surface of the lake at the upper end, but become 
less high as the lower end of the lake is approached. Across the broad canyon at the 
foot of the lake is a terminal moraine a few feet high, through which the outlet has cut 
its way. At the foot of each of the lateral moraines, about 20 feet above the surface 
of the water, is a bench from 20 to over 100 feet in width. This bench was evidently 
formed when the surface of the lake was at that height. The outlet has cut a sort 
of canyon through the terminal moraine and lowered the lake to its present level. 
The sides of the moraines above and below these benches are very steep, and except 
along the upper one-third of the lake there is very little timber on them. There is a 
dense growth of willows and alder along the south shore of the lake, extending back- 
ward into the valley about one-fourth of a mile. The rest of the valley near the head 
of the lake is quite heavily timbered. 
The mountains near the head of the lake are very rugged, and are said to be over 
5,000 feet above the surface of the lake. 
Wallowa Lake is about 4£ miles long from north to south, with a maximum width 
of about 1 mile. The greatest depth found was 250 feet. Its shores are quite regular, 
there being no marked indentations anywhere. The beach at the upper end of the 
lake is sandy; that on the other three shores is for the most part covered by bowl- 
ders. The inlet of this lake has its origin in some lakes about 3 miles farther up the 
narrow valley. The largest of these is said to be about half a mile in diameter. 
About 2£ miles above Wallowa Lake are Wallowa Falls. Just before reaching this 
point the inlet flows through a canyon about 90 feet in depth, the height of the falls 
being about 50 feet. The water falls into a basin about 50 feet in diameter, the outlet 
of which is 15 to 20 feet wide. A great many bull trout are caught with hook and 
line in this basin each year. Between the falls and the lake the inlet flows most of 
the distance, with a swift current, over a bed of bowlders. Within about half a mile 
of the lake the inlet breaks up into two or more channels, and finally discharges its 
waters into the lake by two mouths, which are only a few rods apart. The mouth of 
the inlet has been changed within the past few years. The stream is very swift and 
contains very few gravel beds, and these are along it's lower mile. Another small 
