Lake Size: 109 sq mi (280 km) Shoreline Length (Miles): 48 mi (77 km) Deepest Depth: 208 ft (63 m) Latitude: 41.966667 Longitude: -111.383333 Lake Level Above Sea Level: 5,924 ft (1,806 m)
Information: The first known inhabitants of the Bear Lake Valley were Shoshone tribes, but the area was known to many Native Americans. The first record of whites seeing the lake is from 1818 when French-Canadian trappers working for the North West Company followed the Bear River upstream to the valley. Later, between 1825 and 1840, many mountain men, including Jedediah Smith and Jim Bridger, met on the south shore with Native Americans to swap goods and stories. This is the origin of the mountain man rendezvous which continue to this day in mid-September on Rendezvous Beach. It is from these trappers that Bear Lake received its well-deserved infamy for harsh winters.
Miscellaneous Info
Formed in a half graben valley straddling the Idaho-Utah border, the lake has an approximate area of 109 square miles (282 km²) and sits at an elevation of 5,924 ft (1,805 m) along the northeast side of the Wasatch Range and the east side of the Bear River Mountains.[8]
The lake and surrounding areas are a popular summer tourist destination. The lake has many marinas, beaches, and two tourist towns in Utah known as Garden City and Laketown. It also has two state parks, each named Bear Lake State Park: one in Idaho, one in Utah.
Bear Lake has a high rate of endemism (species living naturally only in one place). Several species evolved in the lake's waters, but after the diversion of the Bear River into the lake, many of these have gone extinct. Remaining known endemic species of fish include the Bonneville cisco, Bonneville whitefish, Bear Lake whitefish, and Bear Lake sculpin.[3] Although other species have been introduced into the lake, few can reproduce successfully in the lake's waters, so it has not been affected as greatly as other lakes by invasive species[citation needed].
Water from the lake is used for irrigation in the nearby Bear Valley in southeast Idaho, and for recreational fishing. The lake drains via the Bear River Outlet, completed in 1915 into the Bear River which eventually flows into the northeast portion of Great Salt Lake.
The climate in the valley is warm and dry during the summer, with first snowfall coming during the fall. Fog and snow are common during the winter. The lake is icebound during most winters and most of spring during freeze years.
Many locals from northern Utah, southern Idaho, and western Wyoming come to Bear Lake for summer vacations due to its proximity and abundance of recreational activities.
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