Bass Lake Disappears – Ely, MN
N 47° 56.953 W 091° 52.477
15T E 584030 N 5311269
It was May of 1925 when an abandoned logging sluiceway between Bass and Low Lakes dropped by 55 feet.
Waymark Code: WMKYXN
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 06/17/2014
Views: 4
It was May of 1925 when an abandoned logging sluiceway between Bass and Low Lakes dropped by 55 feet. The Hibbing newspaper said it was “as if the lake disappeared by magic,” when fishermen appeared the next day and found the lake only a fraction of its original size.
A marker tells the details of the story:
“Bass Lake and Low Lake occupy a long narrow basin that glaciers gouged from pre-Cambrian rock. Prior to 1925, the two lakes were separated by a ridge of glacial gravel that acted as a natural dam between the two lakes. A wooden sluiceway was constructed to move logs through the gravel ridge from Bass Lake to Low Lake, a drop of nearly 60 feet, for the logging operations that occupied the area until 1920.
“When the logging operations stopped, the area was abandoned. Without maintenance, seepage eventually weakened the sluiceway as water moved through the gravel adjacent to the structure. Then during the spring of 1925, the sluiceway and gravel ridge washed out leaving a gorge 250 feet wide.
“The catastrophe lowered the level of Bass Lake 55 feet in 10 hours. Bass Lake was reduced to about half its original size, and two small lakes, Dry Lake and Little Dry Lake, became isolated in the old lake bed.
“Approximately 250 acres of land was then exposed and available to the establishment of pioneer plant species.
“This unusual phenomenon created glacial and ecological events that must have been common during the time of glacial retreat, which occurred in the area 10,000 years ago.”
A copy of the newspaper article is included in the sign as well as a map of the area. Hiking trails that surround Bass Lake and Dry Lake are a great way to see the result of the event.
Group that erected the marker: Superior National Forest
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Echo Trail
Ely, MN USA
55731
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: Not listed
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