Lake Helen (Lassen Peak)

Infobox lake
lake_name = Lake Helen
image_lake = Lake_Helen_From_Road.jpg
caption_lake = Lake Helen as seen from the the highway
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
location = Northern California
coords = coord|40|28|07|N|121|30|36|W|region:US-CA_type:waterbody|display=inline,title
type =
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basin_countries = United States
length =
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elevation = convert|8200|ft|m|-2|abbr=onGoogle Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates.]
islands =
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frozen = October/November to June - August

Lake Helen is a glacial lake or a tarn occupying a cirque at around 8,200 feet (2,500 m) in Lassen Volcanic National Park. The lake is located to the south of Lassen Peak and west of Bumpass Mountain in the Shasta Cascades region of Northern California. Highway 89 runs along the lake's southern and eastern shore. [Cite web|title=Lake Helen, USGS LASSEN PEAK (CA) Topo Map|url=http://www.topoquest.com/map.asp?datum=NAD83&lat=40.46849&lon=-121.50998|accessdate=2008-07-04|publisher=TopoQuest.com] The lake is named for Helen Tanner Brodt who in 1864 became the first woman to reach the summit of Lassen Peak. [Cite web|title=Women Artists of Mount Shasta: 1860s-1930s|url=http://www.siskiyous.edu/shasta/art/wom.htm|publisher=College of the Siskiyous|accessdate=2008-01-29]

Climate

Since the lake is at a high elevation (over 8,000 feet (2,438 m)), the lake is frozen and covered in deep snow for most of the year. Ice usually forms sometime around October-November and remains until July-August. During winter, Pacific storms come in from the west and bedeck the lake with copious amounts of snowfall. Annual snowfall at the lake is around 600-700 inches (15.24 m-17.78 m), making it the snowiest place in California.Cite web|title=CascadeSnow|url=http://skimountaineer.com/CascadeSki/CascadeSnow.html|publisher=SkiMountaineer|accessdate=2007-08-31] The maximum average snow depth for the lake is 178 inches (4.52 m), though sometimes it could reach over 315 in. (8 m). [Cite web|title=Subsection M261Dm - Lassen - Almanor|url=http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/projects/ecoregions/m261dm.htm|accessdate=2007-11-21]

References