Imagine a lake so vast it could swallow Los Angeles, with shorelines that could shift five miles in just hours. This isn’t ancient history – it’s Tulare Lake, and in 2023, it came back with a vengeance1.
Once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, Tulare Lake was drained in the 1870s to create some of America’s richest farmland. Three massive dams were built to keep it at bay.
But like a stubborn ghost, it keeps returning – 1969, 1983, 1997, and now 2023. “The lake has a mystique,” says local historian Michael Semas2. “There is a desire to know more. I think the mystery has always intrigued everybody.”
What secrets lie beneath California’s most productive farmland? Why does this phantom lake keep breaking through even our strongest defenses—and is agriculture truly the best use of its waters?
1. A Lake That Creates Its Own Weather
NASA’s satellite imagery shows how this massive water body transformed nearly 1,000 square kilometers of farmland back into lake, creating a water feature so large it influences local weather patterns.
Modern farmers witnessed what Native Americans knew centuries ago – when Tulare Lake appears, it reshapes everything around it.
2. The Dancing Shoreline
According to the Sarah A. Mooney Museum’s historical records (ref), the lake was notorious for its unpredictable nature.
Strong Valley winds could move the shoreline up to five miles in just a couple of hours, making it a navigator’s nightmare. Imagine waking up to find your lakefront property suddenly inland, or your inland farm suddenly underwater.
3. A Lake That Defied Mapping
According to historian F.F. Latta’s 1937 account in the Hanford Morning Journal, the lake was notoriously unpredictable. Strong Valley winds could reshape its shoreline by up to five miles in just a couple of hours, making it nearly impossible to map or build permanent settlements around.
At its largest, it covered about 1,800 square miles, stretching 60 miles north to south and 35 miles east to west.
4. The Valley’s First Community
The Tulare Lake region supported the largest population of Native Americans north of Mexico before Columbus. Three Yokuts tribes – the Tachi, Wowol, and Chunut – lived peacefully along its shores for about 5,000 years.
Anthropologist A.L. Kroeber noted in 1925 that they were “on the whole a peaceable people,” trading with tribes from the north and coast (ref).
5. Maritime Commerce
The Water Witch, a 32-foot vessel, worked the lake harvesting fish and terrapin (small turtles), while the Mose Andross transported cattle and hogs between Atwell’s Landing and Gordon’s Point.
The most prominent fisherman, W.J. Browning of Delano, operated three boats with four employees. Terrapin were so plentiful that up to 300 dozen per season were sold to Bay Area markets for stews and soups.
6. A Lake of Many Lives
More than half a million years ago, this area was part of Lake Corcoran, possibly as large as Lake Michigan.
Fed by melting glaciers from the last ice age, that ancient lake eventually carved the Carquinez Strait, leaving behind Tulare, Kern, and Buena Vista lakes as its remnants. By the 1870s, the lake had become a hub of commercial activity.
7. The Great Transformation
Due to water diversions from the Kern, Tule, Kaweah and Kings rivers for agriculture, the lake fell to “unprecedented” low levels between 1876 and 1881, revealing what would become Corcoran.
As local historian Michael Semas explains, “The initial goal wasn’t to dry up the lake. The goal was to divert a lot of the water that was going into the lake basin to other areas that could use the irrigation more efficiently.”
8. Nature’s Persistence
Despite human efforts to control it, the lake has repeatedly returned. During a particularly wet season in 1938, 140,000 acres were covered by 1.25 million acre-feet of water, destroying 17,000 acres of cotton – 45% of Kings County’s total yield.
The flooding also submerged 5,800 acres of sugar beets and 100,000 acres of wheat, barley and alfalfa.
9. Modern Challenges
Today, Corcoran is protected by a 14-mile levee standing 188 feet above sea level. However, over-pumping of groundwater has caused the city to sink at a rate of seven inches per year.
In May 2023, Governor Newsom announced state funding to raise the levee to 192 feet, marking the third time government intervention was needed for levee improvements.
10. The Future of Tulare Lake
The Valley’s transformation is stark: what once nourished Native Americans for 5,000 years now supports an agricultural industry employing 340,000 people and producing more than $24 billion in revenue annually.
The diverted waters from the Kern, Tule, Kaweah and Kings rivers primarily grow cotton – a crop so water-intensive it requires about 2,641 gallons to produce 2.205 pounds (ref), taking 3-7 months of constant irrigation in this arid region.
The scale of this water-intensive farming is evident in historical records: in 1938, a single flood destroyed 17,000 acres of cotton (45% of Kings County’s total yield), along with 5,800 acres of sugar beets and 100,000 acres of wheat, barley and alfalfa.
Given the region’s natural tendency to revert to a lake and the enormous water demands of farming in an arid climate, it might be wise to reconsider how this precious water resource is being used.
Yet as Michael Semas notes, “Whether we like it or not, that lake will return. It may not be in our lifetime, or even our children’s lifetimes, but geography will make that lake return.”
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Martha A. Lavallie
Martha is a journalist with close to a decade of experience in uncovering and reporting on the most compelling stories of our time. Passionate about staying ahead of the curve, she specializes in shedding light on trending topics and captivating global narratives. Her insightful articles have garnered acclaim, making her a trusted voice in today's dynamic media landscape.