Marion Lake (Oregon)

Marion Lake
Location of Marion Lake in Oregon, USA.
Location of Marion Lake in Oregon, USA.
Marion Lake
Location of Marion Lake in Oregon, USA.
Location of Marion Lake in Oregon, USA.
Marion Lake
LocationLinn County, Oregon, United States
Coordinates44°33′23″N 121°51′43″W / 44.556508°N 121.862009°W / 44.556508; -121.862009
Basin countriesUnited States
Surface area300 acres (1.2 km2)
Surface elevation4,134 ft (1,260 m)

Marion Lake is a subalpine lake located in Linn County of the U.S. state of Oregon. The lake is in central Oregon's Cascades within the Mount Jefferson Wilderness. The lake is approximately 300 acres (1.2 km2),[1] at an elevation of 4,134 feet (1,260 m).[2]

It is the largest lake in an Oregon wilderness area and the largest lake not accessible by automobile. With the exception of large Waldo Lake, it is the largest natural lake in the Willamette National Forest on the west slope of the Central Cascade Range.[3]

Marion Lake was named in 1874 by John Minto's Marion County road-viewing party in 1874. Marion County, in turn, had been named for General Francis Marion of Revolutionary War fame.[4][3]

It is the headwaters of Marion Creek, a tributary of the North Santiam River.

The rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa) is found at Marion Lake during the amphibian's breeding season.[5]

  1. ^ Joslin, Les (2005). The Wilderness Concept and the Three Sisters Wilderness: Deschutes and Willamette National Forests, Oregon. Wilderness Associates. ISBN 0-9647167-4-7.
  2. ^ "Marion Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
  3. ^ a b "Atlas of Oregon Lakes: Mink Lake (Lane County)". Portland State University. 1985–2012. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  4. ^ McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (Seventh ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 610. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
  5. ^ Hogan, C. Michael (2008). "Rough-skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa)". Globaltwitcher. Archived from the original on 2009-05-27. Retrieved 2008-12-26.