This lake is an interesting looking lake with an island in the middle of it with some nearby ponds. It is in the open as compared to many of the other larger lakes in the area, and even though it’s a shallow lake it stays full of water all summer. This lake is surround by private property; no public access allowed. One could do some bird watching along the public road but of course not on the land off the road. Directions: Take the WA-902 W exit- EXIT 272- toward MEDICAL LAKE., Turn RIGHT onto WA-902 / W MEDICAL LAKE RD. Continue to follow WA-902., Turn LEFT onto N PRENTIS ST., Turn LEFT onto E CAMPBELL ST., Turn LEFT onto S HALLETT ST., S HALLETT ST becomes S MEDICAL LAKE RD. From S. Medical Lake RD. park on the street and access the lake here. Maps: To view a map click on google.com/maps and type in Ring Lake, WA. You can view this lake at its closest point to the paved road; No access allowed.
ACCESSIBILITY: No access allowed.
Private property. No tresspassing
ReplyDeleteSense the private property-no trespassing commentor did not follow up I did my own research and in fact the land around this lake is private property, with no public access agreements with any agencies. So, one can only do the activity of bird watching from the public road. Good news is there are far better places to go bird watching in Spokane County. Plus, the water in this lake gets pretty gross in late summer.
ReplyDeleteGood news here is a website one can use to determine if a site is privately or publicly owned. Here is the link http://cp.spokanecounty.org/scout/map/
ReplyDeleteIs Ring Lake spring fed?
ReplyDeleteNot that I can tell. Like many of the small lakes in the scablands they are fed by spring runoff and rain, and ground water. Some are spring fed but no indication of this with Ring Lake. Most of the small lakes like Ring Lake tend to be deep enough not to totally evaporate even in the hottest of summers even those most become dry beds. Fourth of July Lake is a good example of a large lake in the area with no creek or river entering or exiting the lake, yet it has water year round. This lake is just a larger version of Ring Lake.
DeleteRing lake, as well as basically all of the other lakes located on the West Plains, are primarily fed by large Colombia basalt aquifers that cover the area. Most of these lakes are directly fed by the aquifer, and in some cases are direct surface expressions of these aquifers (Wanapum and Grand Ronde aquifers to be exact). While they are definitely recharged by rain and snow runoff, this is not primarily how they are fed. Additionally, little evaporation occurs, because they are constantly recharged by the aquifers In Question, not because they are deep enough to contain water.While ring lake has no visible springs, there are likely at least small seeps or springs nearby that feed into the lake in at least some capacity, as is seen at some of the larger lakes in the region (i,e Medical Lake). However, again, the primary source of water feeding lake is from the aquifer below, not from rainwater or snowmelt. Some lakes and especially the regional creeks nearby are fed by springs however.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the very informative comment. It is interesting how some of these lakes in this area go totally dry and some do not but do draw down by late summer. I suspect you are right, but some lakes are not connected to the aquifers and thus dry up. Good example is 4th of July Lake stays fairly full even though it draws down quite a bit by late summer but never dries up. It is pretty deep, and I know the aquafer does keep it from drying up, however the just below it (south), Alkali Lake will totally dry up by late summer, unless it's a wet year. Thanks again for your comment.
DeleteAlso, another note of interest. Many of the Lakes below Banks Lake (water is pipped in from the Columbia River into this lake) are fed by the Columbia River via the many cannels that were create for agriculture. So, the water comes in via large pipes near Grand Coulee Dam into Banks Lake, that water funnels into Moses Lake, then goes into Potholes Reservoir, from there into the Sheep Lakes, then goes into agriculture cannels and what water is left enters into the Columbia River. Pretty fascinating process and engineering, etc. Some of these smaller lakes never existed until the Columbia River Basin project was created. Some were there, and fed by the aquafer, but some were not.
Delete