Page:Oregon, her history, her great men, her literature.djvu/279

278 is that it is fed by numerous springs which have teen thoroughly filtered by the extended lava beds through which they flow. Because of this filtering process the water is very pure so pure that tin and iron do not easily corrode in it, and the more perishable substances, such as meat and bread, are slow to decompose or decay in its depths. Clear Lake, which is a mile or more in length and approximately a half mile in width, is divided by a narrow passage into the Upper Lake and the Lower Lake. Of the springs which feed Upper Lake one is large enough to turn a small saw mill, and its temperature in summer is but a few degrees above the freezing point.

Source of Clear Lake.

Whence these springs originate has not yet been determined. But some of them evidently are the seepage of Fish Lake, which in winter is a deep lake and in the summer a fine meadow with a small stream running through its entire length. This stream is a continuation of the headwaters of the McKenzie. It sinks at the lower end of the lake and it is probably one of the feeders of Clear Lake. Also there are numerous other lakes in that locality which have no visible outlet—among them being Lava Lake, Big Lake, Lost Lake, and a score or more of lesser lakes. It is probable that Clear Lake is fed by some of these. The outflow of Clear Lake is the McKenzie River which at this point is ordinarily about twice as large as the South Santiam River at Cascadia in summer.

Location and Importance, Of the many beautiful mountain lakes in Oregon perhaps none has a more attractive setting than Qear Lake. This rare body of water is located in Linn county, seventy-seven miles southeast of Albany and seven miles from the summit of the Cascade Mountains. Since many of the cities and towns of Western Oregon secure their water supply from the Willamette River the State Board of Health has for several years had under consideration a project of inaugurating a water system which would