Pyramid Lake (Nevada)

In Northern Paiute language it is called Kooyooe (Cui-ui) Panunadu or Kooyooe Pa'a Panunadu after the cui-ui fish, which helped sustain the populations around the lake.Jennifer Theresa Kent (2021). "Reclaiming the land, remapping history," Nevada Today. University of Nevada, Reno. Accessed 1 Jan 2023. https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2021/autumn-harry-remapping-history In fact, a major band of Northern Paiute (endonym: Numu) people whose ancestors lived around the lake call themselves the Kooyooe Tukadu, "cui-ui eaters."Ginny Bengston (2002). Northern Paiute and Western Shoshone Land Use in Northern Nevada: A Class I Ethnographic/Ethnohistoric Overview. SWCA Environmental Consultants. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-1-1.https://www.blm.gov/sites/default/files/documents/files/Library_Nevada_CulturalResourceSeries12.pdf

In Washo the name of the lake is {{lang|was|áʔwaku dáʔaw}}, meaning "trout lake."Natalie E. Davenport (2019). "Naming, Remembering, and Experiencing We’ lmelt’ iʔ [northern Washoe] Cultural Spaces in Wa she shu It Deh [Washoe Land]". ScholarWorks, University of Nevada, Reno. Accessed 1 Jan 2023. p. 194. https://scholarworks.unr.edu/bitstream/handle/11714/6780/Davenport_unr_0139D_13067.pdf

The English name of the lake, given to it by explorer John C. Frémont, comes from the impressive cone- or pyramid-shaped tufa formations found in the lake and along the shores.{{Cite web|url=http://mojavedesert.net/people/fremont.html|title=Mojave Desert - John C. Fremont|website=mojavedesert.net}}

File:Pyramid Lake and Truckee River.jpg

File:Timothy H. O'Sullivan, Tufa Domes, Pyramid Lake, Nevada, 1867, NGA 115375.jpg

File:Lake bonneville map.svg

A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Lahontan (~{{Convert|890|ft|sp=us|disp=or}} deep), the lake area has long been inhabited by the Paiute, who ancestrally fished the Tui chub, Cui-ui, and Lahontan cutthroat trout from the lake.Egan, Ferol. Sand in a Whirlwind: The Paiute Indian War of 1860. University of Nevada Press: Nevada. {{ISBN|0-87417-097-4}} The Shoshone and Washo also regularly fished in the lake. According to traditional narratives, the Washo specifically were given fishing rights in Pyramid Lake after assisting the Paiutes in defeating a nearby tribe of giants.Natalie E. Davenport (2019). "Naming, Remembering, and Experiencing We’ lmelt’ iʔ [northern Washoe] Cultural Spaces in Wa she shu It Deh [Washoe Land]". ScholarWorks, University of Nevada, Reno. Accessed 1 Jan 2023. p. 87. https://scholarworks.unr.edu/bitstream/handle/11714/6780/Davenport_unr_0139D_13067.pdf

Archeological evidence shows that human populations lived in this area between 9500 B.C.E. and 1400 A.D. Excavations have uncovered tools, weapons, clothing, food, and mummified bodies in the area.{{Cite book|last=Wheeler|first=Sessions|title=The Desert Lake|publisher=Caxton Press|year=2001|isbn=0-87004-139-8|location=Caldwell, Idaho|pages=23}}

John C. Frémont was the first non-indigenous person to map the lake. The name comes from a large rock formation that resembles a bent pyramid.

In the 19th century, two battles were fought near the lake, major actions in the Paiute War. In the 1960s, a marker was placed commemorating these battles.Pilger, John (1976). [http://www.johnpilger.com/videos/pyramid-lake-is-dying Pyramid Lake Is Dying] UK: ATV Colour Production.

File:Pyramid Lake water level 1887-2019.png

Because of water diversion beginning in 1905 by Derby Dam through Truckee Canal to Lahontan reservoir, the lake's existence was threatened, and the Paiute sued the Department of the Interior. By the mid-1970s, the lake had lost {{Convert|80|ft|sp=us}} of depth, and according to Paiute fisheries officials, the lake's life was seriously under threat. According to documentary filmmaker John Pilger, the irrigation scheme for which water was diverted was an economic failure.

;Chronology

• 1860 – The Pyramid Lake War: Paiute natives and Euro-American settlers clashed.{{Cite web|title=Pyramid Lake War|url=https://www.onlinenevada.org/articles/pyramid-lake-war}}
• 1903 – Irrigation diversion of the Truckee via the Derby Dam contributed to the decline and eventual extinction in Pyramid Lake of the Lahontan cutthroat trout, which are now stocked.{{cite book

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_YhOieXXzqoC&q=extinction&pg=PA106

| title = The Desert Lake: The Story of Nevada's Pyramid Lake

| first = Sessions S.

| last = Wheeler

| year = 1967

| page = 96

| isbn = 978-0870041396

| publisher = Caxton Press

| access-date = 2018-11-02

}}

• 1936 – The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe approved their constitution and by-laws.{{cite web |title=Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe |url=http://www.plpt.nsn.us/plpt.html |access-date=2010-05-30}}
• 1987 – A water quality model was completed for the Truckee River.C.M.Hogan,Marc Papineau et al. Development of a dynamic water quality simulation model for the Truckee River, Earth Metrics Inc., Environmental Protection Agency Technology Series, Washington D.C. (1987)

Pyramid Lake is located in southeastern Washoe County in western Nevada. It is in an elongated intermontane basin between the Lake Range on the east, the Virginia Mountains on the west, and the Pah Rah Range on the southwest. The Fox Range and the Smoke Creek Desert lie to the north.

In a parallel basin to the east of the Lake Range is Winnemucca Lake, now a dry lake bed. Prior to the construction of the Derby Dam in 1905, both lake levels stood at near {{convert|3880|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level.Granite Range, Nevada, 1°x1° Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1886 and Reno, Nevada, 30x30 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1891 Following the dam's completion, the water levels dropped to {{convert|3867|ft|abbr=on}} and {{convert|3853|ft|abbr=on}} for Pyramid and Winnemucca, respectively.New Wadworth, Nevada, 30x30 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1942 reprint of 1894 map with 1911 lake levels In 1957, the Pyramid Lake level was at {{convert|3802|ft|abbr=on}} and the dry Winnemucca Lake bed at {{convert|3780|ft|abbr=on}}Nixon, Nevada. 15 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1957 had been dry since the 1930s.

Pyramid Lake is the largest remnant of ancient Lake Lahontan, which covered much of northwestern Nevada at the end of the last ice age. It was the deepest point of Lake Lahontan, reaching an estimated {{convert|890|ft|m}} due to its low level relative to the surrounding basins.

Sutcliffe is on the west shore of Pyramid Lake along State Route 445. Nixon is on the Truckee River to the southeast of the lake on State Route 447.Reno, Nevada, 30x60 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1980

The largest tufa formation, Anaho Island, is home to a large colony of American white pelicans and is restricted for ecological reasons. Access to the Needles, another spectacular tufa formation at the northern end of the lake, has also been restricted due to recent vandalism.{{cite web |url=http://zephyr.unr.edu/zephyr/04_spring_pages/story5/Mueller_Pyramid.html |title=Reno's best kept secret |access-date=2007-11-09 |last=Mueller |first=Michael D. |date=2004-04-21 |publisher=Zephyr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711012932/http://zephyr.unr.edu/zephyr/04_spring_pages/story5/Mueller_Pyramid.html |archive-date=2007-07-11 }} (dead link: )

File:Pyramid Lake Sagebrush in bloom.jpg

File:Tufa Pyramid Lake.jpg

The Pyramid ({{coord|39|58|48|N|119|30|06|W|display=inline}}), also known as Fremont's Pyramid and Pyramid Island, is a small island near the southeastern shore of the lake.{{gnis|id = 848623|name = The Pyramid}} It is located approximately {{Convert|1.2|mi|round=0.5}} northeast of Anaho Island and slightly less than {{Convert|6|mi|round=0.5|spell=in}} from the community of Sutcliffe. The white band seen to the east of the island is composed of calcium carbonate which came from when the lake was at or near its overflow point.{{cite web|title=The Tufas of Pyramid Lake, Nevada|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2004/1267/#N10031|website=pubs.usgs.gov|author=Larry Benson}}

Major fish species include the Cui-ui lakesucker, which is endemic to Pyramid Lake, the Tui chub and Lahontan cutthroat trout (the world record cutthroat trout was caught in Pyramid Lake). The former is endangered, and the latter is threatened. Both species were critical to the Paiute people in pre-contact times. The Lahontan cutthroat was called "Hoopagaih" by the Paiute people.{{Cite book|last=Wheeler|first=Sessions|title=The Desert Lake|publisher=Caxton Press|year=2001|isbn=0-87004-139-8|location=Caldwell, Idaho|pages=92}} As they are both obligate freshwater spawners, they rely on sufficient inflow to allow them to run up the Truckee River to spawn, otherwise their eggs will not hatch.{{cite report

| url = https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Portals/12/documents/usace_project_public_notices/TruckeeMeadows_DraftEIS_Vol-I_May2013.pdf

| title = Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Truckee Meadows Flood Control Project Nevada, General Reevaluation Report

| publisher = US Army Corps of Engineers

| volume = 1

| page = 9

| date = May 2013

| access-date = 2018-11-02}}

Diversion of the Truckee for irrigation at Derby Dam beginning in 1905 reduced inflow and the lake level to such an extent that stream flow is rarely sufficient for spawning. The Truckee Canal diverts water used to irrigate croplands in Fallon. The dam lacks fish ladders, which prevents upstream spawning. By 1939 the Lahontan cutthroat trout (the "salmon-trout" as described by Frémont) became extinct in Pyramid Lake and its tributaries. They were replaced with hatchery trout from outside the watershed.{{cite journal

| publisher = Royal Society Publishing

| journal = Royal Society Open Science

| volume = 4

| number = 11

| year = 2017

| title = Return of a giant: DNA from archival museum samples helps to identify a unique cutthroat trout lineage formerly thought to be extinct

| first1 = Mary M. | last1 = Peacock| first2 = Evon R. | last2 = Hekkala | first3 = Veronica S. | last3 = Kirchoff | first4 = Lisa G. | last4 = Heki

| page = 171253

| doi = 10.1098/rsos.171253

| pmid = 29291110

| pmc = 5717685

| doi-access = free

}}

However, in 1979 a remnant population of the original Pyramid Lake cutthroat trout was discovered in a small brook on Pilot Peak, on the Nevada/Utah border, by Dr. Robert Behnke of Colorado State University while he was looking for the Bonneville cutthroat trout, another subspecies of the cutthroat trout. The fish were tiny and in poor condition, but Behnke identified the fingerlings as the missing Pyramid Lake variety.{{cite journal

| title = Probable Discovery of the Original Pyramid Lake Cutthroat Trout

| last1 = Hickman

| first1 = Terry J.

| last2 = Behnke

| first2 = Robert J.

| journal = The Progressive Fish-Culturist

| volume = 41

| number = 3

| pages = 135–137

| doi = 10.1577/1548-8659(1979)41[135:PDOTOP]2.0.CO;2

| year = 1979

}}{{cite web |url=http://www.coloradotu.org/2013/10/farewell-to-a-legend/ |title=Farewell to a Legend |publisher=Colorado Trout Unlimited |access-date=2013-11-10 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304071139/http://coloradotu.org/2013/10/farewell-to-a-legend/ |archive-date = 2016-03-04}}

Subsequent DNA testing of a museum specimen has shown his identification to be correct. The fish had been dumped in the creek in the early 20th century. A brood stock was raised at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Lahontan National Fish Hatchery in Gardnerville, Nevada, and a successful reintroduction effort was mounted by the USFWS and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. As of 2017, 24 pound Pyramid Lake Lahontan cutthroat trout are again being caught from the Lake's waters.{{cite web

| url = https://www.fws.gov/lahontannfhc/

| publisher = Fish and Wildlife Service

| title = Lahontan National Fish Hatchery Complex

| access-date = 2019-02-13}}

The fish are doing very well, according to the USFWS project head Lisa Heki. The fish have also been placed in California's Fallen Leaf Lake, upstream of Pyramid Lake, and elsewhere. Fish populations are now sustained by several tribally-run fish hatcheries and state and federal agencies.DeLong, Jeff. "Giant Cutthroats Show Efforts to Restore Native Fish to Pyramid Lake Working." Reno Gazette-Journal. n.p., 25 Feb. 2013. [http://www.rgj.com/article/20130224/NEWS/302240087/Giant-cutthroats-show-efforts-restore-native-fish-Pyramid-Lake-working] The Pyramid Lake Lahontan cutthroat trout is one of the largest inland trout species in the world.{{cite book|last1=Spahr|first1=Robin|last2=Region|first2=United States. Forest Service. Intermountain|title=Threatened, endangered, and sensitive species of the Intermountain region|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M7BVe-GH8VAC&pg=PT86|access-date=12 August 2013|year=1991|publisher=U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Region|page=86}}

The following data are for the census-designated place (CDP) of Sutcliffe, NV, located on the shore of Pyramid Lake.

{{Weather box||collapsed = Yes

|Jan record high F=65|Feb record high F=73|Mar record high F=76|Apr record high F=92|May record high F=99|Jun record high F=103|Jul record high F=105|Aug record high F=103|Sep record high F=98|Oct record high F=90|Nov record high F=79|Dec record high F=73|Jan high F=44.3|Feb high F=47.7|Mar high F=55.2|Apr high F=61.5|May high F=70.0|Jun high F=79.8|Jul high F=88.8|Aug high F=87.4|Sep high F=78.5|Oct high F=65.5|Nov high F=53.2|Dec high F=45.0|Jan low F=29.0|Feb low F=31.2|Mar low F=35.8|Apr low F=40.0|May low F=47.5|Jun low F=55.4|Jul low F=63.3|Aug low F=62.8|Sep low F=55.3|Oct low F=45.2|Nov low F=36.3|Dec low F=29.6|Jan record low F=9|Feb record low F=-4|Mar record low F=10|Apr record low F=22|May record low F=28|Jun record low F=36|Jul record low F=46|Aug record low F=43|Sep record low F=29|Oct record low F=14|Nov record low F=14|Dec record low F=-8|Jan precipitation inch=1.35|Feb precipitation inch=0.76|Mar precipitation inch=0.70|Apr precipitation inch=0.44|May precipitation inch=0.63|Jun precipitation inch=0.56|Jul precipitation inch=0.17|Aug precipitation inch=0.18|Sep precipitation inch=0.26|Oct precipitation inch=0.46|Nov precipitation inch=0.85|Dec precipitation inch=0.95|Jan snow inch=2.0|Feb snow inch=1.3|Mar snow inch=0.7|Apr snow inch=0.2|May snow inch=0|Jun snow inch=0|Jul snow inch=0|Aug snow inch=0|Sep snow inch=0|Oct snow inch=0.1|Nov snow inch=0.3|Dec snow inch=0.9|single line=Y|source 1=http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?nv7953|location=Sutcliffe, NV|}}

At 8b the hardiness zone of the lake area is the highest in northern Nevada.[https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/ USDA Plant hardiness]

Because of the endangered species present and because the Lake Tahoe Basin comprises the headwaters of the Truckee River, Pyramid Lake has been the focus of several water quality investigations, the most detailed starting in the mid-1980s. Under direction of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a comprehensive dynamic water quality computer model, the DSSAM Model was developed to analyze impacts of a variety of land use and wastewater management decisions throughout the {{convert|3120|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} Truckee River Basin. Analytes addressed included nitrogen, reactive phosphate, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen and nine other parameters. Based on the use of the model, some decisions have been influenced to enhance Pyramid Lake water quality and aid the viability of Pyramid Lake biota. Another contaminant of interest is mercury, introduced to Pyramid Lake from the Truckee River.{{Cite journal|last1=Blum|first1=Mitchell|last2=Gustin|first2=Mae Sexauer|last3=Swanson|first3=Sherman|last4=Donaldson|first4=Susan G.|date=August 2001|title=Mercury in Water and Sediment of Steamboat Creek, Nevada: Implications for Stream Restoration|journal=Journal of the American Water Resources Association |language=en|volume=37|issue=4|pages=795–804|doi=10.1111/j.1752-1688.2001.tb05512.x|bibcode=2001JAWRA..37..795B| s2cid=128613091 }} It is suggested that mercury remediation efforts be carefully considered such that methylmercury production is not enhanced.

Salinity increased from {{Convert|3.7 to 5|g/L|oz/USgal|1|order=flip}}, and the pH level is about 9. Temperature ranges between near freezing ({{cvt|32|°F|||}}) to over {{cvt|20|°C|order=flip||}}.{{cite web |url= http://wldb.ilec.or.jp/data/databook_html/nam/nam-23.html |title=PYRAMID LAKE |work=wldb.ilec.or.jp |access-date=13 September 2017}}

{{wide image|Pyramid Lake, Nevada - 2013.jpg|800px|Pyramid Lake in 2013}}

Pyramid Lake was used as a stand-in for the Sea of Galilee in the 1965 biblical film, The Greatest Story Ever Told.{{cite book |title= A short history of Reno |first=Barbara|last= Land |author2=Myrick Land |page=67|publisher= University of Nevada Press |year=1995 |location=Reno, Nevada |isbn =978-0-87417-262-1}} Also, in 1961, part of The Misfits was filmed nearby.{{cite book|title=The Making of the Misfits|author=James Goode|year=1986|orig-year=First Published 1963 as "The Story of The Misfits"|publisher=Limelight Editions|isbn=0-87910-065-6|pages=55, 123}}

{{Portal|Nevada|Lakes}}

• Black Rock Desert
• Carson Sink
• Honey Lake
• Humboldt Sink
• Walker Lake (Nevada)

{{reflist}}

{{commons category|Pyramid Lake (Nevada)}}

• {{official website|url=https://pyramidlake.us/}}
• [https://pyramidlake.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2019_Open_Beaches_Map.pdf Map of Public Beaches and restricted areas on Pyramid Lake]

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Category:Endorheic lakes of Nevada

Category:Lakes of Washoe County, Nevada

Category:Lakes of the Great Basin

Category:Lakes of Nevada