Tulare Lake: 2023 Snowmelt & The Flood-Prone Farmland That Was Once an Enormous Ecosystem
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- Join us in this video showing how Tulare Lake was once a thriving, enormous ecosystem that was changed into rich farmland by extensive construction of canals, ditches, and levees. The farmland, once thought to be permanently dry, is periodically flooded during wet years. Video taken along the flooding Tule River on March 28, 2023 shows how Tulare Lake will once again fill in 2023 as record Sierra snow pack melts and keeps the rivers full into the summer.
Surrounding swamp land and four majors rivers: 00:32 - 1:00
Tule reeds: 1:00 - 1:11
Archeological record: 1:11 - 1:26
Yokuts tribes then and now: 1:26 - 2:20
Spanish colonial traffic on El Camino Viejo: 2:20 - 2:47
Old maps show Tulare Lake as a large body of water: 2:47 - 3:06
Flood of 1862: 3:06 - 3:26
1874 Tulare Lake steamboat destinations: 3:26 - 3:47
Tulare Lake fisheries: 3:47 - 5:25
1850 swamp lands act: 5:25 - 5:50
Ditches, levees, and irrigated farmland: 5:50 - 6:08
Mussel Slough Tragedy: 6:08 - 6:42
Changing Tulare Lake levels: 6:42 - 7:03
Tulare Lake spill point and lake levels over time: 7:03 - 7:26
Tule River flow rate over time: 7:26 - 7:48
1938 boat trip from Bakersfield to the San Francisco Bay: 7:48 - 8:02
1969 boat trip from Bakersfield to the San Francisco Bay: 8:02 - 8:26
1983 boat trip from Bakersfield to the San Francisco Bay: 8:26 - 8:56
2023 snow melt and flooding along the Tule River: 8:56 - 12:45
Business Inquiries: Californiawhistlestop@gmail.com
LET THE LAKE LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes!! Let it live!
Exactly let it Rock !
They should never have drained it !! 😡
@@dankelly5150 We live and learn.... well, some people don't! However, you know as well as I do that big money and greed will win out.
All you are saying is you want to ruin lives you sicken me
I'm a former Californian, and Tulare Lake has always intrigued me. Thank you for this valuable history lesson.
This lake needs to become a state park. For the long term health of the ground water reservoir.
Im agree
Totally agree... bring back the wetlands and wildlife too.
theres a lot of agricultural companies that wouldn't fight the state to keep it as is
@@ciello___8307 Not alot, just ONE J.G. Boswell owns all the fields that make up the Tulare Lake.
@@Zekumas Not true! There are numerous farmers that have land in the lake bottom. All of them are employing thousands of workers.
Allowing Tulare Lake to survive much as it did 150 years ago, also puts humidity into the air via evaporation, that when moving over the Sierras creates moisture in the form of snow (and rain), which is what you need to keep the rivers flowing, reservoirs full and a supply of water back down to the valleys. It's the cycle of nature.
The funny thing about lakes of a certain size, they're a lot harder to kill than one might think. The Spaniards thought they had buried Lake Texcoco... turns out the lake is still there, under all that dirt. When the ground shakes, whole damn thing turns to mud. The Spaniards could divert the rivers that fed Texcoco... for a time. But they could not re-write the fundamental hydrological truth of the region: Lake Texcoco is the lowest point water can access within its' watershed, and water always flows downhill. Now that the subterranean water is being used by the ever-growing megalopolis that is Mexico City and its younger brothers in the old Valley of Anahuac (Tlalnepantla, Ecatepec, Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl, etc.) and the aquifer is collapsing, the water is increasingly taking back its' old stomping grounds on the surface. The parallels with Tulare are uncanny: Over the past forty years or so, ground subsidance from a depleted aquifer has caused something like a 20' drop pretty much right where the old lake was at its' deepest. The symmetry is breathtaking... Thank the Gods these lakes are revenants, both California and CDMX are short on water.
Thankyou for this! I learn even more from the comment section where A continued variety of well educated folks abound!
I live in British, in 2021 we had a lake come back that had been drained 100years ago made me kind of proud that the lake came back. Iam 1st nation's native american and mother nature is loving its own land. The trees and grass lands are happy to see the lake back.
Great job detailing the history and 2023 status of the Tulare Lake.
Thank You!
I hope the farmers get together and commit to turning at least 10% of their land into water storage. It would provide consistent water supply, a cooler climate, and a wildlife habitat. They could dig parts of the land deeper, to store more water, and use the topsoil to build up the farmland to prevent flooding.
They wont.
Money and greed, they won't
It all sounds good but the powers that be WIL NOT allow water to be stored without “Their” permission. They must control farmland to control people! Sad times
They are taking it unto consecration I stumbled across a you tube video last week with a certain congressmen and they are evaluating it now. They have a temporary plan and are trying to get funds from the feral government for bigger better measures in the future. Thought i would just pass on what I learned. I worked for the Lower Tule irrigation District back in the 70's and these guys have a rough time getting the farmers and the governments to come into agreement on anything that costs money. You can always call or send an email to your congress men or women and sometimes they do email you back I done it before . Never helped my cause but you never know.
WATER STORES IN GROUND. You do not need to mess up a thing.
I grew up in the Lakeside School District, visible at 5:36. I have heard many of these stories from the old timers at school and church. I have always felt that one day people, in mass, would hear about it and push for restoration. Since getting my Forestry AS in 1998, I see eco and agri tourism to be instrumental to the future for our area.
Great point and exciting to think about! People would come from all over the world to see Tulare Lake. It could be a national park.
@@pongop see California has water just greed ppl destroys own lands
This is an excellent video! I have watched several videos about Tulare Lake and this one is the most comprehensive and up-to-date. Well done!
Thanks, just added the book "The Octopus" to my book list to purchase in the future. I am a property owner in Tulare County. I know most of what you talked about, but it was organized and presented in a professional, factual and interesting manner. I just subscribed!
Thanks for posting!
It is great that you posted on this site. Love your videos. When I watched your similar video and you mentioned the flood gates on the Terminus Dam, I looked into that and found an interesting story, THE WORLD’S LARGEST FUSEGATES were installed when the storage capacity of the lake was increased.
My grandfather farmed very near Tulare Lake in the 1890's. He told my mom that for entertainment in those days, people would discharge their shotguns into the sky, not to hunt but to flush the many thousands of birds that then inhabited the tules next to the lake into the sky. The huge numbers of birds would literally darken the sky and the locals enjoyed the phenomenon. Also the terrapins were collected and shipped to the San Francisco hotels, where they were a delicacy.
at 6:44, well whoever planned I-5 knew about this historical lake. "yeah, lets keep it over here a bit"
Thanks for this information. The historical perspective is very important in order to be able to understand how we got to where we are, and should be useful with regards to planning for the future.
Great content. The narrator (author) needs to cheer up. Down south (diamond valley?) the state created a huge artificial lake. If the state can spend two billion to create an un-natural storage system (Diamond Valley) certainly it can acquire the land under the former lake. The state could strip off the clay and allow the recharge of the San Joaquin aquifer.
@@cpcattin So you want the state to acquire the lake and then drain it?
@@cpcattin see California has water just greed ppl destroys own lands
I’ve got a geological large format map of CA issued by the state mining bureau in 1916 . almost full extent of lake and marshlands depicted. Great video - Thank you . Almost better than “California’s gold”!
Great video! I remember water being in Tulare Lake when I was in high school in the early 80’s. It isn’t strange to some of us 😂
Yeah, one keeps hearing the term “historical” flooding for this year. How soon we forget that this has been happening rather often and really the last 35 ish years has been the abnormal dry period.
Well done. The loss of Tulare Lake is one of the least known natural disasters of the area. I was raised in Tulare County and didn’t know about it until I was in my 30s
The maps news clippings and content assembled in your video raise the bar for production standards! Well done,!
Awesome presentation.... The history of this end of the valley, and land/water management are crucial moving forward, it should be respected in times of abundance of water, and management of the area improved upon. Done correctly it can provide for everyone by recharge the ground water tables in that area, as well wildlife...
see California has water just greed ppl destroys own lands
Thanks for the great footage of the flooding! This historic event is not getting nearly enough media coverage as it should!
The record snowfall will begin melting tomorrow and weeks to come from the abnormally high temperatures. Flooding will be intense.
see California has water just greed ppl destroys own lands
As a California resident I just heard about the lake this last few months due to the crazy weathers event and reported on the local news. Who know we may not see the lake again for another 60 years when it dry out again. Enjoy this event while is last.
Since the beginning California has been irresponsible with their water
It's ridiculous to think that you guys want a pipeline from Michigan when you literally drained a lake for land
Yeah homie that thing didn't dry out. It was drained out
@@PaendaTube bro up here in Idaho they be trying that bullshit since the 70s. They already steal power from western states as it is. Straight tap into that shit like it's your neighbors cable
your crazy liberals and greed that drain the lakes
I’m from Turlock CA, I had heard of lake Tulare but i wasn’t familiar with the history behind it. Thanks for sharing with us this very interesting video on lake Tulare!
see California has water just greed ppl destroys own lands
Excellent presentation of the history of Tulare Lake.
Wow great video . We need more history on Tulare lake . People need to know
Excellent historical summary of the Tulare Lake. I was a little surprised that the 1952 flood wasn't shown. That year several of the Reclamation District levees were brteached going from south to north one by one. The last levee held which was at the south end of my uncle's property just south of Stratford and kept the flooding to about three quarters of the lake bed. The problem that year was heavy inflows from the Sierras due to a wet winter combined with unseasonal strong southerly winds causing heavy erosion on the levees which inspite of heroic efforts to counter the erosion ultimately proved futile.
It is interesting that you say 1952. In 1955 Visalia had a significant flood where most of the city was under a couple of feet of water. Don’t know if Tulare Lake filed up much that year. I wish the video had covered these years in more detail.
see California has water just greed ppl destroys own lands
The best video with an amazing history of Tulare Lake. Thanks for posting! ;) I think we going to have a lake for a couple years now.
I'm glad its coming back. Let it be a warning to those who keep destroying nature for greed.
Thanks for this. It is always productive to see historic points in watershed ecologies. The more I see, the more I learn and the more my clients benefit!
Excellent presentation. Please do more.
A great book to read on Tulare Lake is Mark Arax's "King of California"
Excellent video on the history and current conditions of Tulare Lake.
Excellent and timely little history and geography lesson. Thanks!
The reason there was a native steelhead/rainbow trout population in the upper Kern River is that during flood years, the fish were able to migrate up from the ocean through Tulare Lake into the waters of the Kern River in the High Sierras. It was this population that the Golden Trout, California's state fish, descended from, having been cut off from their historical migration route by a volcanic blockage of the South Fork of the Kern River.
Maybe. State references.
Awesome video. Thank you for this!
Very educational! Thank you very much!
Good now restrict any development of the land around it and build aquifers to hold surplus run off and California can reduce its drought problems
Thanks for this fascinating history! Great job!
#keeptulareLake
This is really a great video! Incredibly informative and thanks for the recent footage. I've been wanting to see what was going on but couldn't find good info. I recently learned about Tulare lake and video really ties everything together!
Just discovered this channel, I really like the work you're doing
...Like others posting here, wanted to say Thank you. I was born ((957) near the Mighty Kings River as were my parents. My grandmother lived to 100 and remembers the King River prior the construction of the Pine Flat Dam (1947). I have friends in Corcoran too!
Reminds me of Lake Titicaca which straddles the border between Peru and Bolivia in the Andes Mountains.
Not only is it a wet year this year, it seems El Nino will be back later this year to cause more rain
A really well sourced video - thank you
Great video my family relatives farmed out there & told us about the history😊
Thanks for the effort.
Thank you for the history and current coverage of Tulare lake. It is so unfortunate how much has been re-purposed.
So much to be thankful for.
So good to see mother nature doing her thing
Great job thank you
I was driving through this area last year in June. Traffic stopped for miles because "it was that time of day" and at least 2 roads feed into a third, one lane both ways.
So glad it's underwater again. Keep it that way.
Very well done documentary.
Well the good thing is that the Tule river is not even full anymore looks like a creek I live next 2 it in porterville
Just wait for June, that is when the projections for the real high flows are to happen. The flooding in Portervillle was mostly from rain in the lower mountain areas. Just took a look at the St. Johns River and it is also way down from the highs levels.
I'm finding this situation incredibly interesting
Great video on a forgotten treasure. Without the waters of the valley, the bread basket would've just been basket.
The little town of Alpaugh was an island at the south end of the lake. The Yokuts did have a permanent settlement on northern tip of Buena Vista Lake.
Terrific video! This will be perfect for posterity to see.
I love to see it!
Super report. Would love to get an update after this last February 2024 storm.
I have a large map of the United States from 1900 hanging on a wall. It’s from a schoolroom pull-down. I had it on the wall for a few years before one day walking by Tulare Lake caught my eye. Was surprised as I had studied maps my whole life and had thought no such lake exists. Then I looked it up.
see California has water just greed ppl destroys own lands
Mother Nature is always in charge.
My great great grand mother lived at Tulare. She was married to a train worker. All kinds of people lived at Tulare.
Sure looks like you guys are gonna get your lake back whether you want it or not.
They might.
@@williebeamish5879 They're not worried about the lake filling, they're worried about the flood reaching the compost / sewage system. So much for summer vegetables... start growing your own.
@Pluto do you realize that this area produces 1/3 of the country's fruit, vegetables and nuts? Maybe you'll recant that after spending $8 for a head of lettuce.
@@Vashti0825
Not so much lettuce, think tomato’s and the JG Boswell Company is already planting tomatoes on part of 132,000 acres of land that they own on the lake bed.
Okay, so I hope some folks try to take a boat from the lake again to San Francisco, sounds interesting to read about!
Well done video. Many of the locals do not know much of our backyard history.
Good history lesson! Satisfactory 💪
Great video, thanks for the history.
It would be amazing to see something like this level of detail on the formation of the Saltón Sea. I’ve heard some say the erosion of the new River course created a waterfall 40’ high on its way to filling the “sea”. Excellent detail in this vid thx
see California has water just greed ppl destroys own lands
I never knew Tulare lake existed. Kind of Kool its back.
Thank you for this video.
Greetings from the BIG SKY.
Can the lake be seen from Interstate 5 at Kettleman City? This Video explains well much of what is happening right now and also the history of the area. Thank you.
From Kettleman, as you look due East and slightly South you should see Alpaugh and Allensworth. East and slightly North is the prison. At night, it is easier to see the prison complex to the south of Corcoran. The Lake encompassed almost everything you see in that line of site.
Would be mice to see it permanently back
Excellent video and narration
Great video. Please invest into a wind guard or wind sock for your microphone.
Save the Lake
Very informative
Thank you.
Everyone who wants to see Tulare Lake be restored should contact the CA state legislature and make sure they know about this issue and the benefits of restoring it. This is particularly important for CA residents.
the Boswell family evil ppl , sell to the state of ca make a national park . stop drain it .
I grew up in Porterville and remember that river being completely empty during the summer and Lake Success being at its lowest point. That was in the late 80's early 90's.
Very interesting... 👍
There are some good examples of low/wetlands combined with agriculture. This could solve both the restoration of the natural habitat and another more productive way of agricultural activities. Now the farmers slaughtered the chicken with the golden eggs.
Awesome to see this water rise up. They need to move their farms and work around the lake.
My dad said when he was a kid the valley was like a swamp... this is back in the 30's and 40's
Keep it. It's worth more as a lake than it is as farmland
Interesting info. Thank you. Production comment: you might want to look into a slightly better breath screen on your mic. Occasionally, your vocal ‘plosives’ hit the mic with an audible sound..
Great presentation!
Thank you for NOT making it mostly about your FACE like so many other "creators"
amazing
Hopefully the lake is here to stay!
I hope this lake will be permanent and healthy again. And coming winters/springs will keep feeding it to its former glory.
Bring Back Lake Tulare! Big Cotton can leave. Pesticides and overwatering... why? Doesn't the area need a lake more than some corporation needs money?
Cotton has not been a big crop in this area for some time, does not have enough profit to pay for the expensive water. AND who is going to tell the JG Boswell Company with their 132,000 acres in the lake bed what to do and what is happening now is nothing that hasn’t happened fairly regularly in the last 100 years.
@@Mentaculus42 the govt can buy the land as public domain
Unless you think that corporation deserves a farm more than the residents of California needing a lake
The left really has become the party of corporate greed
Let the Lake return. Use water for ground water renewals
This is really well done. I love geography (especially CA's) and this video provides a) a great overview of the Tulare River (not the only one) flowing into the lake) and b) terrific, ground-level views of the river/levee activity. I can wonder, and probably guess that a cotton crop will be put in next summer.
They need to drill holes through the clay layer to let the water soak down to the aquifer quicker.
One day I hope for a future where all environs such a Tulare Lake are re-established. Lakes and wetlands in areas like this are special and needed. They should be looked at like the infrastructure they are. Natural infrastructure is lakes and wetlands. We no longer as a species have the excuse of not knowing that draining these ecosystems will be detrimental. Sumas Lake in BC, where I am from is similar.
the Boswell family evil ppl , sell to the state of ca make a national park . stop drain it .
These tribes were essentially nomadic, because of herd migration, the lakes wet/dry cycles. But first and foremost, the lack of (as we now know it) sanitation practices rendered homesites unhabitable fairly quickly.
8:47 is this boating trip possible now (Spring 2023)?
I wish I could have seen the enormous prairie of the Great Valley, against the backdrop of the snowy Sierra, before it was developed, it must have been spectacular. The last time I could see the snow-covered Sierra from the edge of the Bay Area was on a windy January day in the mid-80s, it was so beautiful. Now the air pollution obscures it.
You mean the great swamps and wet lands of the valley to the east of Tulare Lake. Source, local maps out of the late 1800’s that are held by the City of Visalia. But most people not from the area say that it is desert and the farmers need to stop farming. Water is a complicated issue.
@@Mentaculus42 the Boswell family
@@hillbillyintheasia6122
J.G. Boswell Company “farms” tho records indicate that they “own” 132,000 acres of the Tulare Lake bed and have an additional 27,000 acres close to this area.
According to testimony before the Water Resources Control Board in 2021, Boswell pumps an estimated 140,000 acre feet a year, on average, to irrigate crops.
The groundwater agency that covers Boswell lands almost exclusively, the El Rico Groundwater Sustainability Agency, submitted a plan to the state that allowed for so much pumping that Corcoran was expected to sink 11 more feet.
The State of California is paying $17 - $20 million to raise the Corcoran levee 4 feet to keep the two state prisons from flooding.
Also John Vidovich, who helms Sandridge has amassed 102,000 acres in Kings - as well as nearly 40,000 acres in Kern County, 10,000 in Tulare County and 1,700 in Fresno County, according to ParcelQuest.
We have had numerous warnings for evacuation along the Tule River and trepidations of the fullness of Lake Success miles behind us. The reason why they keep draining the water of the Tulare Lake is that the Boswell family owns the land and they use it for farming. There is no stopping the reforming of Tulare Lake because the Summer is upon us and the snow melt is going to keep the Tulare Lake going at least for this year. We are going to hit mid 90 degree temperatures this week and we are not in May yet; yikes!
see California has water just greed ppl destroys own lands
the Boswell family evil ppl , sell to the state of ca make a national park . stop drain it .
With the persistent megadrought, we have to learn how to live in a drier West. Any plan will require rethinking everything we have done and are doing in the West.
What do you mean
All it requires a multi million dollar slush fund. That's probably the only way to get all those cronies in govt to agree to anything
It doesn't matter what you as an individual do. It's the government that allowed this lake to disappear. I hope it's not too late but your govt put you in this situation you need to get them to fix it the state not federal