42 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
rising- for a distance of about a mile before the foothills are reached. Many portions 
of this slope have been cleared. Off the points in this part of the lake, from 30 to 40 
feet from the shore, thick clusters of tule are submerged in water from 7 to 10 feet 
deep. Later in the season a large portion of the ground in which this grass grows is 
exposed. Soundings were made along the outer edges of these strips and points 
without finding any indications of hard bottom. 
On the east and west sides of the lake the steep hills rise within a short distance 
from the water; in many places projecting points and bluffs rise very abruptly, with 
little or no shore line at their base. The bottom close to these projections is hard, 
being composed of a mixture of sand, coarse gravel, and small stones. The hilly land 
is covered with a dense growth of trees, extending to the water’s edge, and at times 
when the water is high it is very difficult to walk any distailce along the shore 
without swinging from one bough of a tree to another. When the water is low or at 
its average height the sand and gravel beaches here are bare. 
At the foot of the lake, on the northeast side near Squak Slough, a low point 
of land extends for a considerable distance southward. From this point south, a 
distance of nearly 2 miles, the shore is composed of sand and gravel beaches. On 
the west side and north from where the last line of soundings was begun the hills 
gradually descend to the shore, and in a number of places toward the foot of the 
lake the land is quite level. The shore line along the northwest and northeast portions 
of the lake is covered with logs, slabs, and pieces of timber, refuse material that comes 
from the shingle mill situated near the north end and the sawmill near the south end. 
The greater part of this material is found in the northeast portion of the lake, being 
forced there by the southwest winds. 
On the west side of the lake, near its southern end, is a submerged forest, about 
half a mile long north and south, extending nearly a third of the distance across 
toward the east side. The northern end of the forest commences near the pile of 
sawdust already mentioned. It runs parallel to the shore and is separated from it 
by a distance of about (J00 feet. During the summer months it is said that the tops 
of many of the trees project above the water from 1 to 2 feet. The lake then is much 
clearer than in winter, and on a bright day, when the water is smooth, a large portion 
of the forest, according to the statement of people living at the lake, is plainly visible. 
Owing to the muddy condition of the water, caused by the heavy rains, we were 
unable to find any of the trees. Many theories are advanced by people living near 
the lake as to how the forest came to be in its present position. The most common 
theory is that at some remote period a gigantic landslide occurred and the displaced 
material found a resting-place at the bottom of the lake. Considering that the nearest 
hills where a landslide of such magnitude could have started are situated nearly 2 
miles from the lake with comparatively level country lying between, this theory is not 
altogether tenable. A large tract of land becoming detached from the side of a moun- 
tain and carried along rapidly by its own weight a distance of a mile or more from its 
starting point would by the time it reached its destination be a huge mass of trees, 
earth, and stones. The trees would be more or less broken, and not left standing in 
an upright position. It is also likely that if the forest in question had suddenly been 
detached from the side of one of the adjacent mountains it would have stopped on 
arriving at comparatively level ground, but instead we find it deposited a long distance 
from hills of any great size. If, however, such had been the case, and it was forced 
