GEOLOGICAL SURVEY RESEARCH 1972

FREMONT LAKE, WYOMING-PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF A LARGE MOUNTAIN LAKE

By DAVID A. RICKERT and LUNA B. LEOPOLD' ,

Washington, D.C., Berkeley, Calif.

Abstract.-Fremont Lake, a t ' an altitude of 2,261 m, has an area of 20.61 kin2 and a volunte of 1.69 km3. The maximurn depth is 185 m, which makes it the sevcrith deepest natural lakr in the conterminous IJnited States. Theoretical renewal tirnc is I 1. I years. Temperature data for 1971 indicate that vernal circulation extcnded to a depth of less thau 90 m. l'hv summer heat income was 19,450 c:al/crn2. The dissolved-oxygcn curve is orthograd<:, with a slight mc:talirnnctic maximum, arid a tetidcticy toward decreasing concentrations at dcpth. At 180 in, oxygen was ;it 80 percent 01 saturation in late July 1970. Thc lake has ii rcniark:tbly low dissolved-solids content of 12.8 mgb, making it one ol the most dilute medium-sized lakes i i i the world. Detailed c:heniical data arc given for the water column at three sites in the lake and lor the influent and t:ffluent streams. Net plankton included representativcs o f sevm geiiera of phytoplankters and three gcncra ol zooplankters. A recoiiiiiiiss:Itic(: indicatrd substantially no bacteriologic:al contarniiiatioli in thc lakr. but there was a n appreciable amount iir two minor strrams in the vicinity of a summer-home colony.

atid o n thc Continental Divide is Frernont 4400 r n .

Valley ides i i i th r , vicinity of the lake arc

Prak, altitudc

vegetated with sagebrush and sparsc stands o f aspctii on slopes lacing cast. North- and west-l'acillg slopes generally support mixed (:om if'crs. Wlicrc. l'irc has destroyed thc c:oiiilcrs, aspeii has c~oloriixcd the old burn. 'I'hc coniler forests are a niixturc. of' Ihuglas- l ir~ alpiiicb l i r , lodgq)olc piitc. a r i d Erigelniatiti sprue(.. I hwc is virtnally I I O cbmcrgctit vegctation along thc: shorc4iiic, and dredging l rom sclcctcd shallow arcas ol the lakc showed an abscricc: o l r o o t c d aquatic:^.

I /

I ) 17.3 U.S. GEOL. SURVEY PROF. PAPER 800-D, PAGES D173-Dl88

u174 LIMNOLOGY

AREA, IN SQUARE K I L O M E T E R S

/

8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22

7

/

-#- Mean depth

FREMOA WYOMING ' ~ n nront

2500

d 2400 * >

w a p I 2300

z z w $ 5 z 2200

z& c - w

a m a 2100

0 1 2000

u 1 2 3 4 5

DISTANCE I N K I L O M E T E R S

Figure 1 .-Bathymetric inap, hypsograptiic (arcadcpth) curve, and cross section for Freinont Lake, Wyo All depths arc' 111 rnctcrs Sdmpliiig si tcs noted o i l thr inap are 1-3, chemical andysrs. 1970, md 4 -7, planktonic alidyscs, I969

METHODS

RICKERT AND LEOPOLD D175

Ilcalth Association and others (I 965). Hnc:teriologic:al atialyscs wcrc coiiducted using the membrane

filtvr techrtiqtit: (Ant. Piiblic: 1Icalth Assoc. and others, 1965). lhe total c:olifortri count was delerniiried through us(: of M-Endo riit:diuln, the fecal streptococci with M-Enterococcus Agar medium, and the I colif'ornt coiirit with M-Fecal (;oliforrii rric:diirrrt ;is dc c:d liy (;elclri~it:h ( 1966). Each iliciihatiori was startcrtl irrriiicdiatt:ly after thc: collectioii ol' c x ~ h sarnplc:.

r ,

MORPHOLOGY AND MORPHOMETRY

, I I htb outstandiiig physical I'c,atiirc: ol Frernont Lakc is its grcat tlcpth (fig. I). 'IYie rnaxirnum dcptli, 185.3 in, rriakes k'rcino tit the sc:vt:itth dccpest natural lokc in the coiitermirioiis liriitcd Sta tcs (excluding the Grc:at Lakes) arid thr tcrith cl~:c~pcst with Alaska included (tahle 1).

For piirposcs of tnorphological tlcscriptiori, Frcmont Lakc ('itti bc victwcd iis lwiiig tfividetl iiito two oblong sections by ;I

litit . drawti across 'I'hc Narrows. North atid south o l this line tlicrrc. iirt' srvc'ral ciiI'lt:rences in the surlicial morphology of thr

h i t i . l?iirthertttorc', ttir: line overlies a11 uticlerwatc,r travcrsv ridgc:, so that tho tlcptli ol cvatcr iiicre south of this location.

South ol' 'l'hc. Narrows thc lake has a length of 11.14 kin, I~rt~adt l i s rangitig between I 57 and 2.08 kin. and a triauirnurn tlrpth of 185.3 rri. 'lhc shorcline o l this part 0 1 thc lakv is vcry rcgiilar a n d striootli.

l i t contrast. tltc Iiortlierntriost scction of the lakc l ias a c ~ ~ i n p o i i t i 1 1 Iviigtli ( I 'oo t i io tc : , tabl(t 2 ) 01' 0.53 h i , lirc~adtlis (c.xrliitlitig tlic. nortl i t~rt iniost tip) ranging bctwec:ii 0.75 ant1 I .;$(I k i n , arid ii tna~itriririi tlt:ptli ol' 15 I 111. Th(. shordiiic- Iicrc

I tit: t w o parts 0 1 tlic lakc arc also tlistitigitishetl by tliI'Ic.rc'tic:t*s i t i ho t tom morphology. I n tlic soutlic:rti part. the

iscs i i i rcgiilar patterns froin tlic three sliorcliiics ancl thc: travcrsc ritlgc, a t i d tlic bo t tom is c:xc.tsediiigly f lat. III tlic northcrt i part the tlcptli patterns arc rnuch rriorc irrvgiilar. t i i i t l ; itistcad of o i i c basiti, thc:rc: arc scvt:ral isolntcd pockrts oI' t l ~ p water whicli havc: sloping lwttoms.

I he t~xtrct i tc l ' latnrss of th(: bottom i l l t l i v soutlic:rn part o f tlic I n k c . is well illustratc:d Iiy tlic batliyttictric: riiap and thv

r 1

I 7

Name Location Depth (meters)

Cratcr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tahoc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chclan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pcud Orcillc . . . . . . . . . . Nuyakuk . . . . . . . . . . . . . l)ew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (hanekiiktuili . . . . . . . . . Crcsceri t . . . . . . . . . . . . . scrl~I(.:l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frctnott t . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ikvcrlcy . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Oregon California and Ne1 Wdshi ngton Idaho Alaslia . . . d o . . . . . . d o . . . Washington Nc.w York Wyoming Ala~l \a . . . d o . . .

589 iada 501

489 366 281. 267 213 190 I 88 185 I 84 I52

D176 LIMNOLOGY

Table 2.-Morphornetric data for Frernont Lake Table 3.-Areas arid oo1urne.s by depth iritrrvals for Frernortt Lake

Total drainage area (la Area of lake ( A ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . km2 . . 20.61 Ratio of total drainage

Greatest breadth (bm) Maximum depth (Zm)

Length ( I ) ? . . . . . . . . .

Volume ( V ) ~. . . . . . . . . . . . km3 . . 1.69 Mean depth (Z). . . . . . Volume development ( . . . . . . . . . . .44 Shoreline ( L ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . km . . . 39.52 Shoreline dcveloprnent (Di,) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.45

I Length refers to the total distance of lines running roughly p;irallel to the center of each section of thr lakr.

accompanying cross section (fig. 1). Thc 180-m isobath covcrs a central area of 1.26 km2 which includes, at 185.3 m, the maximum depth measured in the lake. l'hc flat bo t tom is undoubtedly the result o f tlic filling of a depression with sediment. The p r ncc of a flat bo t tom only in the downstream and deepest part of the lake suggests that the sediment was deposited from density currcnts and consists of very fiiic p i n e d matvrial. 1Iowevc.r. no rorv samplcs havc y(tt bccn taken.

Fremont lake is ii classic tbxarnplc o f aii cloiigatt., grcatly overdeepened, glacially excavated lake. From the cross o n figlire I it ciin hi: secii that. 1)cric:atl-i the w a t v r , the sidw of' t he lake are of t h r samc steepiic s thc hillsides borderiiig the lake. Bec:ausc* ol' these corribintrd charac:tcristic.s arid its altitude, F'rcrnont may b(* catcyprizcd as a picdinorit lakc according to thc (:Iassif'ic:atiori of Ilutchinsoii ( 1957).

Morphomctric: data f o r Frcnront Lakc arv siiminariz.cd i n tablc 2. The arca o f 20.0 I k m 2 raiiks Frcrnoiit far bdiind Yellowstonc: (about ,300 k m 2 ) arid about equal to Slioshoric~ in size ainoiig thc largc: iiatiiral 1akt.s of' Wyoiriiiig (P(~ i i r iak , 190.3).

Thc sliorc:liiic dwclopincnt (UJ, ) valur of' 2.45 i.i c.oiisistcrit with the elongatc: shape ol Frrinoiit Lake and, hcriw, with its origin as a glacially ovcrdccpeiictl vallry. Thc mean depth o f Fremont I,ake is 82.5 m , arid thc volu : dcvclopmerit (0.44.) is modcrately high. The volurncs of' di rent water laytrrs are presented in table 3, alorig with thc areas covcrvd l)y sclcctcd isobalhs.

HYDROLOGY

Fremont Kivcr criterh tlic north end o f Frcmont Jake and is the only iiilluc~nt slreairi othvr thaii a Icw miiior riviilrt\. 'I'his

0 . . . . . . . . . 20.61 10 . . . . . . . . . 18.97 20 . . . . . . . . . 17.35 30 . . . . . . . . . 15.75 60 . . . . . . . . . 1 I .90 90 . . . . . . . . . 9.56

120 . . . . . . . . . 5.84 150 . . . . . . . . . 3.11 180 . . . . . . . . . 1.42 185.3 . . . . . . . . . .00

0.20 .18 .16 .41 .32 .23 .13 .06 .oo

11.1: 10.7 9.5

24.2 18.9 13.6 7.7 3.6 .o

river contributcs 5 m3/sec o n thc avcrage (tablc 4). Annual precipitation directly on the water surface, judged from the rec:ord at thc t own ol' Pinedalc (table 5 ) , avcwgcs about 35 cm. The total drainagv arca is 244.1 kin2 (table 2 ) . Of this total . 196.3 km2 lies above the U.S. (;cologic:al Survcy gaging station on Fremont K i v w , 0.11 kni aliovv lakc heatl. The slopes which surround the lakc consti tute a tlrainagc area of 27.2 km2 . l'hv ratio of' total drain;igc* x c a to lakv siirfac:c. arcti i h I I .O.

, I lablc 4.-Mean monthly ,floio, in cuhic meters per second, of E'rrmonf Killer

[Uascd on 1J.S. Geological Survcy data, I955--701

0ctoIx:r . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5 Novemhrr . . . . . . . . . . . . .O Drcrmbrr . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 January . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 February . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 March . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

April . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . 0 M a y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1 Junc, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.6 July . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.7 August . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6 September . . . . . . . . . 2.5

Annual . . . . . . . . . . . 5.0

Table 5 . ~ ~Clirriatic data for Piridale, Wyo.

I Based on I1.S. Wrathcr Service data, 19 I?: 70 1 Jan. E'eb. Mar. Apr. May .Iune July Aug. Srpt. Or(. N o v . I)cY:. Artrtci;il

Total precipitation (ccntimcrters) 1 .83 1.63 1.65 2.01 3.35 3.18 2.08 2.72 2.60 2.24. I .63 2.01 27.02

Mcan tcmpcraturc: ("C) -1 1.2 -9.4, -5.3 1.4 6.9 11.7 15.5 1 4 1 9.5 3.7 -3.5 -9.4, 2.0

RlCKERT AND LEOPOLD D177

Ta'ble 6.--Approximate water balance of Fremont Lake

Drainage area above gaging station, Fremont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . knt2. . . . 196.3

Estimated runoff below gage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m/yr . . . . .35

Estimated precipitation on lake surface . . . . . . . m/yr . . . . .35 Estimated evaporation from lake', . . . . . . . . . . . m/yr . . . . 1 .O

Runoff h l o w gage plus preci m3/yr . . 16.7X106 Runoff from area above gage m3/yr . . 157.0X106

m3/yr . . 173.7X106 m3/yr . . 20.6X106 m3/yr . . 153.1x1O6

Volume of wa-ter i n lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m3 . . . .1,690.0X1 O6 Ratio--- lake volume : annual contribution . . . . . years . 11.1

Estimate from comparison with otlier high-altitude lakcs in I ~ n g -

Precipitation at Pinedale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m/yr . . . . .270

hein (1 951 ) and Lotrgacrc arid Blaiiey (1 962).

The, estirnatc: ol' tlicorctical rc.tic:wal tirnc, 11 . 1 years, is probably satisfactory 1)c:c:aiisv tlic c 4 n i a t e t l values arc s m a l l

cotnparcd with the. nicasiircd quantit ies ol' lake volume aiicl of rimol'f at tlic gag(..

PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

Temperature

II' ir holomitic, lakc (a lakc. with seasonal c:irc.uIations cxlendiug to tlic bot tom) is cool(*d srilliciciitly dowii bdorc vcrnal lull c:irculatioii, tcmpcratrrrcs in thv d w p must immcdiatcly aftcr the establishment of'

md at incipient siimmcr stratification very iicarly correspond to thc 1' various depths.

Table 7.-?kmprature observations, in degrees Celsius, a t site 1 in

1970 1971' Fremorrt Lake, 1970-71

lL..*l. -- "&put

se;Pt. May May May June

9 12 17 I6 (meters) zmd'

0 . 1 . . 3.94 17.6 3.88 4.17 4.01 10.80 15.30 3 . . . 3.94 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.40 15.08 5 . . . 3.93 14.7 . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.37 14.97

. . . . . . . . 7.25 14.89 I0 . . . 3.93 8.0 . . . . 12 . . . 3.94 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.82 15 . . . 3.92 . . . . 3.70 4.38 6.20 9.13

. . . . . . . . . . . . 6.45 20 . . . 3.92 5.3 . . . . 25 . . . 3.91 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.21 30 3.90 $:89 3.88 4.78 4.81 35 . . . 3R9 4 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.62

. . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . - - _

50 . . . 3.88 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.45 60 4.18 4.31 . . . 3.87 . . . . 3.90 . . . . . . . . 90 . . . 3.83 3.8 3.88 3.88 3.88 4.07 4.18

120 . . . 3.80 . . . . 3.88 . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.00 150 . . . 3.77 . . . . 3.90 . . . . 3.95 183 . . . 3.73 3.8 3.92 3.92 3.93 3.93 3.93

. . . . . . . .

Ices breakup occurrcd on May 13 ' From Strcjni (1 945).

0

20

40

60

ffl 80 rx W + W

> 100 f

I' k n 120 W

140

160

18C

2oc

I

I_--- 1 --Ip- 3 6 3 8 4 0 4 2 4 4 4 6

T E M P E R A T I I R E IN DEGREES CELSIUS

_I- 4 8

D178 LIMNOLOGY

0

20

40

60

ffl LL 80 w L g 100

Pl g 120

2

I

140

160

180

200

i--- ~ 'Sept. 9, 1971

I I I 10 12 14 16

-1 4 6 a

TEMPERATURE, IN DEGREES CELSIUS

8

Figure 3.-Summer temperalure curves at s ~ t r I , Frcinont Lakc, 1970-71.

RICKERT ANI) LEOPOLD DI79

I 0 'Site

40

60

Site 2

_ . _ I 1 _ _ L I I l

TEMPERATURE, IN DEGREES CELSIUS

Figure 4,. --Tctnpcratim curves a t sitcs 1-3, Fremotit Lake, J d y 21 -22,1970.

Percentage of flcat iticomc Watcr Mvaii iiicreasr

laycr i t i tcmpcraturc: (mctctrs) May- 9-Scpt. 9 ("C) (ca1.'rm2 ) total

0 - 5 . . . . . . . . 11.28 5-10 . . . . . . . . 11.13

15-20 . . . . . . . . 4.09 20-30 . . . . . . . . I .94 30-60 . . . . . . . .77 60-90 . . . . . . . . .32 90- I 20 . . . . . . . . I 7

120-1 50 . . . . . . . .09 I 50- I 83 . . . . . . . .03

10-15 . . . . . . . . 8.28

5,4.71 5,187 3,691 1,726 1,538 I ,346

368 1 0 1 21

I

OLI n:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . I9,1.50

'Ihc total summer income o f 19,450 (:al/cm2 is consistent with 1-lutchinsori's ( 195'7) data lor ternperate first-class lakes arid C X C I U ~ ~ S Frcrnoiit I'rom the "rrwuritiiin lake" category oC

Strdni (L938), who del'ittcd it Iiigh niountaiti lakc: as o n e with a heat biidgct rnarkcdly hclow what a coniparable lake would havc a t scu Icvel. In Norway, ari approxiinate 50-perc:citt reduction was nottd at lat 61" --C,Z"N., a t altitudes iti excess ol ti00 to I ,000 in. 111 1hc Rocky Mountairis, ICawsoii ( 1 942) f o i i n t l a c.oinparal)lc rc:duc:tioti lor Lakc hlalignc at lat 52'40' N . arid altitiitlt~ 1 ,OO:i in, while lakcs a t 40"--51" and up to 1 ,4(54( rn cuhil)i lrd iiornial iiicomcs. Freinotit I,ake, a t 2,261 m, is apparciitly located far t~noiigh soutli (42'57') to protec.t it l'rom thcl altiLudina1 c:f'fi.ct.

Secchi disk transparency

Sc~c~:lii disk reatliiigs were niatlc a t sitcs I --:I aiid at various atltlitioiial locations oii Ju ly 21 ~ 22, 1970. 'l'hc: traiisparcLtic:ics

t i c w l y itlciitic:al at about 9 in tliroiighout t l i c critirc lake. A 0-111 value is indicative o f clear wnlcr atid is within tlie raiige 01' 8 t o 1-3 in found by Rawsoti ( I 942) iit ittisilted large alpine lakes of thc Canadian Rocky Mountains.

CHEMISTRY

Dissolved oxygen

The vt1rtic:aI oxygcri distribution (tablc 9) in Icrcmont is c:harac,tt+stic: o l oligotrophic coridi lions. The dissolved-oxygvii (DO) concxiitration curvc a t site I (fig. 5) is orthograde, with a slight rnt;talimnetic: niaxirnurn (positive heterograde tcridericy) and srnall dcc:reasc.s Lclow 90 in and in the warin surface

Thc corrc,sponding perwtttagc saturation curve shows supcrsatiiratioii in t he cpilirnnioti a i d iri the upper part o f the rnctalinitiioii, slight lindcrsaturatiorl betweell 20 and 90 in, and ii dc(:r(:as(t to 80 pc.rc:ciit at 180 in.

h s id t l s gcticral oligotrophic: conditions, the basic form ol' the vc:rtic:al tlistributiori reflvcts a vcry short arid, pctrhaps (as

i t i I97 I ) , i1lc:oirtpletr~ vc:rtial circillatiori, and slight oxygcsri d(.plctioti a t dcptli. 'I'he oxyg(:ti tlci'icit itndoribtcdly r e s u l t d

I'rotii oxidation of organic: ttiattcr. niost likisly withiti tlic water

Si tc 1

1kptli Illg/l Pcrccntagc (Ini.lcrs) sa turalioii

0.1 . . 7.7 I06 5 . . . 11.1. 108

LO . . . 9.3 97 3 5 . . . 0.0 91 11,s . . . . . .

120 . . . . . . . . . I110 . . . 8.0 no

1,o . . . 9.8 I08

90 . . . 8.9 . i r i

2 3 Percetitagr mg/, Percerrtag(gc:

saturation SB I urat i o r i

7.0 107 7.9 106 7.9 106 8.6 I IO 9.0 I 0 3 9.7 1 IO Y.2 97 9.7 99 11.8 1I9 9.2 92 . . . . . . 9. I 91 [I. 8 811 . . . . . . f1.6 80 . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

1) I 110

0

2c

40

60

m 80 K W

I- W

5 z 100

I' - I- n. W

120

140

160

180

200

' f" DO percentage saturation

I I 1 1 I I 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 11.0

DISSOLVED OXYGEN CONTENT, IN MILLIGRAMS PER LITER PERCENTAGE SATURATION X 10-1

Figure 5.-Dissolvcd-oxygrn concrntration and percentage saturation at sitc I , Frcinoiit Lakr,,luly 21, 1070.

Ionic constituents and dissolved solids

KICKEII'I' AND LEOPOIB D18l ,, Iablc I O.--Clwrnislry of I~*rivnorrt I ~ k e , the h f l o w , the outflow, arid n rrrorby beaoer porrd, July 21 22, 1970

(1)ata in milligrarns per liter, except as notedI

outilo w Depth i n meters 0. I 5 10 35 90 180 inflow

Calcium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I .4 2.3 2.3 2.3 .3 .3 .3

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 .6 .7 .6 .4 .4 .4 .00 .00 .oo

Marigaiiese . . . . . . . . . . . . . .00 .oo .oo .oo Ammonia (as N) . . . . . . . . . .16 .09 .08 .07

9 9 9 I .6 2.0 2.2

Chloride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 .3 .3 .4, Fluoride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I . I . I .o

Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I . 1 I . I 1 . I 1.3

Nitrate (as N) . . . . . .05 .02 .02 .02 Phosphate (as P) . . . .003 ,003 ,003 .003

2.3 .3 .6 .4 .OO .00 .03

I 0 2.2

.3

.1

.02 ,003

1.5

2.5 2.4, 2.2 .3 .n .3

1.0 . . . .6 .4' . . . .5 .00 .02 .02 .oo .00 .00 .os . . . . 1 0

9 . . . 9 2. I . . . 2.0 :t . . . .3 . I . . . . I .02 . . . .02 .no:$ . . .003

1.5 . . . 1 :1

.

12 6.2 7.3 2.1

.19

.OO

. I 7 81 4.9

.I)

1.0 . I 4 ,033 .2

Organic nitrogen . . . . . . . . .05 .02 . . . .00 .01 .04 . . . .00 .67 Sum of nitrogen forms . . . 2 6 .13 . . . .09 .07 .I1 . . . .12 .98 Total organic carbon . . . . . 2 L . . . 2 1 1 I 2 13

'Total hardnrss(as C;ICO~) . 6 8 n 8 8 8 8 8 56 Dissolvrd solids . . . . . . . . . 9 11 12 12 13 13 . . . 12 74 Spccil'ic conductance (I'mhos/cni at 25" C ) . . . . 13 I 8 19 19 20 21 21 19 138

pH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.0 7.4 7.4 7.5 7.1 7.1 7.1 7.3 8.5

I For location, see site 12, figurc 8.

1

E X PLANATION \ \ 0 Temperature ("0

A DO (rng/lj u DO saturation (perceni) X Specific conductance

m Dissolved solids (me/lj Q Hardness (mg/ l j 9 PH

(pmhos)

Multiply DO saturation values by 10

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

PARAMETER VALUE

l~tguure O.-'l'c.mpc.ratrirr and chrini5lry of thr w'itcr column ,it sitr I , Frcmonl l,alw, July 21 1970.

U182 LIMNOLOGY

Thus, althoirgli F r c m ) t i t Lakc. is t i o t as dilutc i ts low 1)s cotitcnt in rclatioii to its largci size a rnakcs it ;I vcry rc%niarkal-ilc lake. O n a worldwidt: Frcrnoiit and Waldo c a i i lic thought of' as bcloiigiiig to a s

c:lass of largc:, ultradilutc lakm which iiicliides tlict Nordljord 1,akt.s o f Nor\voy (Strdrn, 1 !XU).

Kecausc tlic ionic c:otic:c:ritratioiis in Frcttiotit Lake arr so l ow, it is o f i t i t twst to wrriI iarc. tlic valirc~ to tliosr i i i

precipitatiori. 'l'alilc I I was c:ompilcrl I'rorii the data ol' .I urigc: and Wcrliy ( I 958) a i i d I'rom the calculated r n w i i cwtiteiit in I 7 r c b m o n t I,akc of' tht: fivv sc:l(~:tt:d ioiis. 'l'lic prvc:ipitation data

rcprcsc:nt I year's avcrage valires from duly I955 througli J u l y 1956 f ix western Wyoming.

Column 4 o f table I 1 givcs the concentration differeiiccs bctweeti lake water atid prccipitatioii, whilc column 5 shows the pcrccritagc o f eac:lr ionic coiiccritratioii i t i the lake that can be attributcd to prccipitation. If thc: valiics of Jiirige and Werby arc rcprcsentative of long-term composition, prccipita- tiori accounts for otic-fourtli ol' tht. sodiiirn and pot one-third of thc chloride, nearly oiie-hall of the calciiim, and ovcr thrce-fourths of tlic sulfatr in F r rmon t Lake.

lhi is , on the basis of percentages, it appears that prrcipita- t i o i i coinposition dctcrrniim a coiisidwablc: part of the major- ion c:hcinistry of Fremotit Lakr. Furtlicr support for this coiidiision is providcd by thc gt:ricral similarity t i c b t w c c l l tlic* ioiiic ratios i t i lakc watrr atid prwipitation (tiil)l(, 1 I , col. 7

Water, as it movrs tliroiigti ii tlraiiiagc: liasiti, is subject t o c.liaiigc~s i r i (wrnpositioti tliroirgli tl iv pro( prccipitation, pliysiocliciiiical exchanges, aiid 1)ioclic:niic:al I J p -

take aiid rcl(:asc. Solution and Iiioc1tcmic:nl r c h ~ s c : arc' th(. t w o ininc~ral cwiitctlt. In (5s ;irv the proliolile

('airsc o l thc. low c . o t i t c ~ t i t 01 1)s. 'l'h(. low rat(.s i t i t i iri i (':ill 1ic

and 8).

most responsililc f o r itic:rc*a l,okc, low rat(5s of' tlicsc 1'

nia,ior tlrai t lag" busi t i c.1iarac.l vrist i cs .

First; tlte gcwcnl rat<, ol' solution is I O W hc:ai isc tlrc basiti is composcxl 01' Iiighly insolii1)lc crystalliiic rocks (Src: 1 ) . 1)173). Second, tlic glac:iatiotis wfii(:li c r v a t t d tlrc lakc liavc svo i i rcd

the entire basin, Icaviiig it drxvoid i i i many p1ac:t.s of' soil and

loosc: tiiatrrials. 'lhv r ( d i i u d siirfnc.c arca availalilr l o r contact

bctwcc:n water a ~ ~ d niincrals I'urther slows the ratc: o f solirtioir. Mor(:ov(:r, thc. paucity ol' soil rnantl(. greatly limits the growth of vcgctatiori atid, liciic:c*, tlic rc.lcasc. 01' acids f'rom tlic tlec,ay 01' organic matt(*r. ' lhis r c ~ s i i l t s i l l vcr) lirnit(d direct Liological contributions to I)S, u i i d CV( ' I I niorv important, i r i little acidity to be. applied to tr1inc:ral solutioti. 'rhird; temperatures a r i d

ipitatioii arc: qiiitc: low i i i ttic tiasin (table 5 ) , I'urtlicr acting to slow tlic: rat(:s 01' all chcmical atid bioclicmical reactions.

1 hiis, conditions i l l 1"rc:niotlt I,akc basin arc conducive to low ra tcs oI' soliitioti aiid bioc:hcmical rc:lcasc. 'l'hc low ionic c:ontcnt of' the water is a rc.i'lcc:tion of thest. c:otiditions. togctlicr witli tlie fairly rccxiit vxposurt: (9,000 ycars ago) of'

the surface mat (.rials. Calcium was the dominant cation arid bicarboriatc the

dominant anion in all o f the tested samples. A t the 0. depth, the concciitration order of cations, on a weight 1) was c:alciuni>sotlium>potassiurn>magnc:si~~rn. lIowcver, c -

pressed as millicquivalcnts per liter, the ortlrr was calciiiin> sodiuin>magiesiiim>potassiurn. 'lhc anion o r d ~ r was bi- carboriate>sulfate>chloride, regardless of tlic inantier of expression.

I-Iardncss c:omputed from tlic calciirni and riiagicsiirni contcnts averaged about 7 mg/l. ln contrast the l'icld rcsul ts,

as determined by EDTA titration (total IiardiIcss), awrngcd 8 mg/I (tablr lo), a tliffercncc attribiitcd to poor swisitivi ty of' tlic I'icld aiialyses.

Similarly, laboratory bicarbonate results (table IO) arc

slightly lowcr than tlic ficld-d~:tc~rrnir~c:tl valucs (tal i l ( , I 2 ) . Va1irc.s dctrrmiricd a t the tittic. o f soniplitig w o i r l t l ge~ ic~a l ly IN! ac:cc,pt~I as thct mor( : accuratr. 1iowevc.r. a t Vrcmont I,akc,, Cit:ld alkalitiit) \vas dctr:rininc~d by wlorirncttric titra tioii, ratlicbr that1 by tht: itiherently morv ac:cilrat(' pott,titioriic.lric. tnc.tliod. Morcover. for suc.11 diliitc. watcr, tlicrc. is pro1ial)ly

Ikalitiity 1ictwc'c:n time of c : o l l w t i o i i aiirl

. lhi is , thc l a h a t o r y r c w l t s iirc viowrtl as liciiig morv nc.c.irratv iti tliis study aiid wcrf: the ones iisrtl to

(:alr ir lnt~~ 1)s. The I'idtl ~ n l u c s arc- used oiily to show tl ic .

Ial\c.widc tlistrilirrtion o f alkitlitiity witli loc:aLioii aiid drptli. I he ionic wrnpositioii atid specific condrictaric~c o l tlic. lake

sirrfac:c~ watcr was ~ic*arly ic1c:ritic:al with 12odhc's ( IO4,c)) m o s t

r 1

r l

RICKERT AND 1,EOPOLI) D183 r 1 Iable 12.~l"ic,ld-pnrc11neter chemistry of the. water column. I~'rsmont I,nke. July 21 --22. I970

Uicarboriate alkalinity Hardtress Specific conductance ( 1 4 ) ( m d ) (pnhos/cm at 25°C) Deplh PI1

(me tcrs) Site Site Sit(: Site

1 2 3 I 2 3 I 2 3 I 2 3

.

. . . . . . . 0.1 7.4 7.5 7.3 I I I I I I I) I1 7 I8 18 18 5 7.4 7.6 7.3 11 I 0 I 1 8 8 8 I O 18 19

7.5 7 .a I 1 I I I1 11 8 7 19 18 2 0 7.2 7.2 I 0 I 1 11 8 8 II 20 20 20 7.1 7.2 I I I O I 1 8 8 8 20 20 20

7.2 . . I I I1 . . . . . . 21 7.1 I I 8 8 . . . 21 21 . . .

120 7. I . . . . . . n . . . . . . 21 . . . 180 7.1 11 . . . 8 . . . . . . 21 . . . . . .

. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

dilute, hypothetical hicarlionate water (bicarboriatc corivrrted to (:arbonate). 'Tlic major dil'lc:rcncc was thc considerably

0.7 mg/l) chloride coritcnt i i i I"rcniorit 1,ake. I lict ratios o f 1)s t o spc:cil'ic c:otidiic:tarice were vcry similar

through tlit: rti tire systcm. 'Ihc ratio was 0.69 in Fremont Kivcr atid 0.03 in Pine Crcck, and it ranged randomly l'rom 0.61 to 0.65 a t dil'tcretit depths i t i thc lake.

I r( ) t i a t i d mail ga ti ese con (x: t r tra ti ( ) 11s were cons is tc n tl y low. l h e manganrsc: cotitctit was bclow the sensitivity (0.01 %:/I) of tlic aiialy tical tec:hriiqitc i t i tach sarripl(:. Iron was cIetcc:tcd only t w i w ; coilcentrations of' 0.02 mg/l werc lound a t I80 rn i t i tlic lakr arid i i i Pitic. Creek lielow tlir lakc. ' I ' h low c.oric:c.iitratiotis o f iroti a t i t l tiiaiigatit:sc pro1)ahly rcsr~ltc:d Irom a ( , o i i i l i i i i a t i o i i ol ( I ) a n iroti-poor gc,ologic. c~riviroiirnctit, (2) c ~ ) t i i p l ( ~ t c ~ 1ac.L 0 1 iitiiicvx)bic< c:otidiliotis. a r i d (:1) a paric,ity of orguri ic . i l i a 1 t(.r t o I ' u i i c t i o i i ;is a c , l ic . la tor . ' 1 ' 1 1 ~ last i s important, of' c.oiirs(*, I)c.caiisc~ i t iorpii ic i r o i i a i i t l ~itatigaric~st~ arc. Itiglily itisoliililc i i i wc:ll-ox~#erratc.c1~11~1tv~ watc'r.

J Iic c.oit(.i:titratiotis of silica wcrtb itlso low. Va1ric.s ratigc.tl I'roin I . I to o n l y I .5 mg/I withiti tlic lakc atid werc. I. I rrig/I i i i

tlic itil'luc~iit and clf'liictit.

I I

. .

r 1

Field parameters

cxhihitvd a tericlericy toward ;I rnaximum ol 7 .S7 .0 bctweeri 5 atid I0 111, and tlicti a dccrcasc to a valuv of 7 . I a1 90 m arid bt:low. The (:lose corrcsporidetice bctwecn tlie pll and I ) O curv(:s ti(:iir tht: s ~ r f a ~ (fig. 0) silggc~sts that both :ire

cotitrollrd liy photosytithcsis.

Major nutrients

'Tlic c:otiecritr~ttions 01' r i i trogeri and phosplrorus i r t solutiott arc' knowii to I'liictunte with biological activity. 'ilius, strictly spcaking, the phosphorus arid riitrogcri rcsults determined for Fremoiit taiinot lie corisidered represeiitative of a standard coriditiori o f the water column. As will be seeri, however, most ol the rcsiilts are consistciit with thc low values found in othcr dilutc alpitit: 1akc.s ol the l inited States.

111 Frcmorit Lakc the coticcritratioii of PO4 -P was 0.003 mg/l throughout thr water c:olumri (table IO). 111 the Colorado Rocky Moimtaiiis, Pcritiak (1 958) survcycd 12 dilute lakcs arid I'oiintl that thc. PO4 -1) w t i t c i i t at the surl'acc rarigcd I'rotri 0.00 I to 0.009 mg/l, with i i t i averagc o f 0.0020. Rcimers, Rlxiolcli , atid Pistcr ( I 955) determiricd middepth PO4 c o t i -

ccxitratioris Lor lakcs ol' the Convict Crcek hasiri ol' tlic Califoriiiit Sicria Nc.v;ida. Thc rc:siilts, expressed as P( )4 , wcrc <O.OI mg/l (<0.003 mg/l as P) i i i six of tlic, I O lakes, and wcrv 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, atid 0.07 mg/I i t i the rcrriaitiirig tour . Iri

Waldo I ,akc, i t i thc Orcgoti (:a idcs, the P04-P r (wt l t f o r otic*

sampI(s r i t w t h v siiri'nw was <O.OI mg/I (I,arsoti atid UonaIcI- soti, 1970).

Among t l i v tiitrogcii spe(:ics, nitratc. a l o t i c ~ c.xhibitcd tht. same c.otic~c~ntriitiort a t all tl(.pths, 0.02 mg/l NO3 -N. 'This valuc. c:orrc.spoitds vcry c~losc~ly to thc rrsults of' Krinicrs, Mac,iolek, at id Pistcr (1955) i t t t1ic Sicwii Nc*viida. tixprrssiiig the restilts f o r the, 10 lakcs in tt.ritis ol' NOS-N (NO3 conletit was rcportetl) givcs ii raiigc: of' 0.009 to 0.43 tiig/l, with an avc.ragr ol 0.020 tng/l. I I I Pcriiiak's ( I 9%)) I locky R'loutitaiti lakc study, t l i c N 0 3 - N c o t i t ( : i i t ranged fro i i i 0.009 to 0.1 81 mg/l,

I~,arsoti a i i t l I ) o i i a l t l s o i i ( I 970) rcpor1c.d ii NOJ -N valitc. 01' arid 11w a v c y y of I2 sampll~s was 0.00;1 titg/I.

0.1 I mg/I f o r Waldo I , a l \ ~ . 'rhis vo lw sccitis too

cutrc . t i id j t l i l i i t ( ~ wiitcr; ail iiiipublislicd anal 1909, clis1ric.t o l ' l ' i c , c , , U.S. ( ; c . o l . Survey, l'ortlmid, 0rc.g.)

d c ~ x a c t 1 ~ - as the lakc and strctam sarril)lcs.

In contrast with the lakc., tlir: pond was nondilutc: and had a LIS content ol 74 mg/l. Thc pori ater rxhibited a visual a1)undaric~e of' algae and aquatic. iris , and contained a largc amount 01 total particiilatc. ma Analyscis showed aii

orgaiiic: riitrogrn content o f 0.67 mg/l, givitig a ratio of N i l 3 -N t o organic: nitrogen o f 0.25 atid a C/N ratio ol' 19: 1 . 'Ihcsc v a l i i c ~ siiggcst ~ l i a t the clt lorolortn may Iiavc atleqiiatoly ~ i r t ~ s c r v e d tlic saitipl(*; i f so, tlic lakv sumplvs should also Iiavc h n staliiliztd. . lri fact , staliilieatioti would t h e o r c t i d l y bc morc. ccrtairi lor the lake samples with their drastically lower contents ol organisms atid total particulate. mattcr. Iiowevcr, thc pond watcr data certainly (lo not I i r d u d c thc possibility that some small arr io i i r i t of organic t i i trogw was c:orivert(d to

Nil, - N . A sinall amount of cwtivcrsion c~ould c:onwivably have ot*c~rirrctl wi t l io ir t clrtc*c.tioti i r i tlic. p o t i t 1 sar1ipIt:s. wliilr ii

similar c*liarigc in tlic lakv sairiplcs c , o i i l t l l i a v ( . c w a t t d t111, tiotcd tlisc:rc,piric:irs. ' I I i i ts , witlioiit I'iirthvr tcstitig> c~xplatia- tioii 1 .rc:rnairis ii possibility.

tit studies on diliitc strciirns i i i Alaska (K. V . Slack, oral coinmiin., 1972) have givcii riitrogcii resid ts vcrl' siiiiilar to

h i s ( : for E'remoiit Lake. Tlic Alaskan sattip1c:s wcrc p r w w c d with IIgCI,, (40 mg HL2/I) rather tliari with chloroform. atid

the organic tiitrogcn was tictt:rrriiticd l iy tlic Kjc:ldalil- Nesslerization method. Organic: nitrogen rwilts of <O.OO rng/l wcrc olitaincd on samples with N O 3 -N c:oritcrits ranging I i c t w c ~ n 0.20 arid 0.50 mg/l, NH3 -N c:otitcrits lit~twc:cii 0.17 and 0.50 nig/l, arid concentrations o f 'I'OC I'rom :I to 5 mg/I.

' l l w F'rcmorit and Alaskan data c.oiild bt. c~xplaincd liy a (:ortihitiation of' vxplanatioris 2 and :1. If' tlic- wa tvr ac,tiially (x,titairictl otily tracc quatititicbs of organic: tiitrogcw, the arialytic:nl ~ ~ r o w d i r r t ~ may Iiavc- b c w i i t i a ~ i ~ x p i t c . Fi tr t l icr study i s r i t ~ d c d on thr dct(:rmitiatiori 01' c~xtrcnic~ly low lw(~ls o f orgatiic: iiitrog(.ii a i i d , c~liially iniportiitit, on tlic, possiliility that orpiiic, riitrogtLri niay i iot accoi i r i t ('or a largt. Iiart 01' t l i c , total nitrogc,n i t i iiltriitliliitc. watrsrs.

\Vitliiri t l ic lakc, tltc sum ( i f tlic tlirce iiitrogcir foriris v i i r i t d

I'rorri 0.07 r i ig / l a t :l5 111 t o 0.1 3 nig/l at 0. I iii. In coinpiirison. tlir s i i t n i r i the cl'f'lircrit strc*arn was 0 . I2 rng/l, h i i t the vuliic i r i

I"rc:rnorit Itivcr was 0.20 tiig/I. Tlic rclatiotiship o f all tlit v a l i i c ~ s i iggt~sts that I"rc~rtioiit I,nkr ac ts as a i i i t ropi i trap o r ac,c~iiinulutor. III coiitriist, t l i v c.oiic:t,titratioti o f total 1)O4 -1' was O.OO:I ttig/l in tliv i t i i ' l i i t * t i t , tlir cfI'ln~!nt, arid at all sarnplctl i lq i t l i s witliiti ttiv lake. 'I' l i(~ cwiisist(wc*y of tht.sc* v:!Iiiw sriggrsts tl int ~ i ~ i O S p ~ l O ~ l l ~ is iiot licing trappcd. I lowcvt.r. i n rc,latioii 10 tIi(. largt. v o l ~ ~ t i t c of tlit. lake, t l i ( b grab-s;iniplc r t w i l t s

;it-(' i'iir lro in ( ' o t t ( . I iisivc. cvitlcn 1.c for citlicr olisi*rva tioti.

Pesticides

RICKEK'I' A N D LEOI'OLD 11~8.5

I

Thwc is no agrici~ltctre witliiri the bnsir i , ~ i r i d m o s t of thc land is part o f Kridgt:r National Forcst. 'The prohable sourct: o f IIDT is precipitation f rom wind c:~~rrcrrts which carry t l ~ r material l'rorn arcas ol applicatioii.

BIOLOGY

Net plankton

Net-plankton satnplc~s wcrr c~ollrc~tccl a t four sitrs 0 1 1 t h c s aftc.rrioori ol' August 14, I060. Ih~c:aiisc~ ol' thr otic-tiriic sampliiig, arid the fact t tiat r ie t platiktoii are a srriall f'ractiort o f the total population, tlic- rtwilts rc:prc.sc:iit only a pre- liininary survc'y.

Tlitr nct planktoii iiiclutlcd rcprcsciitativtxs of scv(~ii gcticra of' phytoplankters atid t l iwc: gciivra ol' zooplankters. 'I'hc total list i s its follows:

Phytoplankton Uacillarieae :

Asterionelkt sp. I2ragilarin sp. Ni~v icuh sp. Synrdra sp. Tiibdlaria sp.

Chlorophy ccar : Staurastrurn sp.

My xophy c e : ~ :

Nostoc. sp.

Zooplanktoti Copepoda:

Cyclops sp.

Cladorera: Daphnia puler

Ilotatoria : Keratella sp.

Table 13. -Net-planktori count distribution in Frernont Lakc,, August 14.1959

Plaitkton count (thousands per liter)

I>epi.h 0--3 in

Asterioriella . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 6 Fragiluriu 30 24 54, 15

21 15 111 . . . . . . . . . 11) 21 12

. . . . . . 3

. . . . . . . . . . .

Nostoc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kera t e l b . . . . . Interval 1s . . .

Mean planktori count Pcrccntage of plankto

Cyclops . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Dnphniu puler . . . . . . . . . .

Depth 3-15 m

2 10 23 12 18 3

. . . . . . . . 1 0 15 2 . . . a 23 . . . . . . 2

Staurastrurn . . . . . . . . . . 4 3 2 3 Nostoc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 15

Interval subtotals . . . Mean planktori count I'ercentage of plankto

Depth 15--30 m

ilsterionrllo I 5 briigilar in . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 1 8 Naoicula . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 I1 20 Synrdra 15 Ta bellaru~ 4 . . . . . . .'lo uraslru m . . . . . 3 4 Nostoc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 (:yclOps . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 . . . Ihplinia prtlex 2 2 Kcratella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2

Ititcrval subtotals . . . 30 3 1 69 Mean plankton count per station . . . . . . . . . . Percentage of plankton in this dcptli interval

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . .

. . . .

21 25 15 20

3 4 2 7 6

Ikptli 30 45 m ~~ ~ ~~ ~

. . . . . . . . . 20 29 26

3 . . . . . . Sy ne dra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7 4 > Stnura.s~ru i n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nostoc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . .

Ilapliriio p u l ~ x . . . . . . . . . . Kr:ralrlla . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

(:yCkJp.S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ititcrvd subtotals . . . 37 3 2 4 0 31 M e a n plankton corritt pcr station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Pcrwntage of planktoii in this depth interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.2

LIMNOLOGY D186

s l ~ o w s that the 0- to 3-m zone c:ontained 34.0 pcrc:ent of the total, tlic: 3- to 15-m and 15- to 30-rn zones 24.0 arid 25.6 percent, respectively, and thc: 30- to 45-111 zont, otily 15.2 perccnt (table 13).

were present in about the sarnc total iil,urld:itl(;cs in cacll of Llic t h e e ititcrvals through 3 0 in but werr absent in the 30- to 45-m zoue (table 13). I n contrast, I\'rm/,clla was only I'oirnd in the two zones below 15 m.

It is difficult to compare tht. plaliktori data to results from other alpinc: lakcs. Otic problem is the. irniqucncss 0 1 Frcniont Lakc: as to sizc atid cotitcnt ol dissolvctl materials in rclation to other alpinc lakes which have been studic:d i n North America. A second problcni results I'rom us(% of a nct for sampling. A third dill'iculty , of (:ours(:, is that thc data rt:prc:sc:nt a liniitcd, one-time sampling. I Iowcvcr , cvcn in thc abscnce ol' di (:omparison, the t o ~ a l of IO gc:ric:ra atid tlic rnaguitudt: ol' the counts seem to be vcry low.

The zooplankters Cyclops sp. atid Dapliriici pulex

Bacteriological reconnaissance

ing scc:tions it (:ail Lc sccn that Fremont is a thc cxwptioti of wincl-c:arricd I)I)T, the

chemical and biologic:al data indicatc that man, so lar, Itas not contaminatccl tlic watcr. However, bacteriological data arc sometimes a more sc:nsitivc indicator of' c:oritamination than g(:nc:ral c:licniic:al watcr qualit nil plaukton cwnnts. M o r c o v c r , the 13ridgc:r National 1"orcSst c:arnpgr.oirntl and the Sylvati Hay s u n i n i d t o m ( : c:omniunity ar(' sourws 0 1 ' hurnan wastcs which could pollut(~ tlrc. lakc.

To t cs t I'or liurnait c:otitatriitiatiori i t i tliv lake and i t 1 the small streams wliicli drain thc mati-used arcas, a bac:teriologic:al recoiinaissancr was c:onductrd on J u l y 15 and 16, 1970. Twcnty-four samplw werv analyzc:d for total c:oliI'orrn orgari- isms, aud eight 01' thcsc samplcs wcrc also atialyzcd I'or fecal coliform and I'(.c:al strc:ptoc:oc:ci orgiliis~iis. Samplv locations arc indicated i n I'ignrc 7, and tlt(% results arc proscritod i i t table

Samples I ~ 9 wcre taken from Frcmont I ,ake at sites just off the cast arid south shorelincs. All of the samplcs, with the exceptiori o f saruplc 6, showed citlier ztxo o r very low total coliform counts. Iikewisc:, tlic fccal colil'orm atid fccal streptococci c:outits wcrc very low.

Waters iriteridcd lor cont;ict sports, such as swimming, carry stringerit recommendations for bacterio1ogic:al stanclartls. F o r this class ol' walcrs, tho rcport 0 1 t he Committee ou Water Quality Criteria (Fcdcral Water Pollution Control Adm., 1968) recommended a 1cc:al coliform criterion. The suggested maxi- mum permissible level is a log mean of 200 pcr 1 0 0 ml of water based on no Icss than five samples from within a 3O-day period. More specifically, with regard to Lhc Green Kivcr Basin, which includes Frcbniont I,akc, thc Wyoming rkpart- merit of Public Iiealth ( I 968) set a niaxiniuni pcrtnissikiI(~ I'ecal coliform most probablc tiutuIicr o n a onc-saniplc basis of 750 per 100 ml.

14,.

/ 56'

0 I KILOMETER LLLlliLLlll

Figurc 'I.--BacterioloCjcal sampling sites, Fremont Lake and vicinity, duly 15-16,1970.

Sample TOL'll l~ce'll Fcc.11 NO. coliform coliform st rc plococci

pcr I O 0 nil pcr IO0 ml p v r 100 nil

b

. . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 ( I ) 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 4, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 I - > 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 0 0 . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2 3

. . . . . .

. . . . . .

,

IO.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 L I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,

0 0 7 2

Ponds and pond drainage

12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

. . . . . .

. . . . . .

. . . . . .

Crwk lcd by spring drainagc ~~

15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 1 6 a 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 3 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .>80 19a2.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . >80 20a2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . >80

. . . . . .

. . . . . . 8 3 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4*9 4

>110 >80 . . . . . .

Not determined. Samplcd on I d y 16, 1970. All other .;amplcs wrrc collcctrd on J u l y

15, 1970

collcctcd iicar the picr o f a boat rctital establislirrictrt. In relation to criteria these samplcs wcrc riot pollut(:d. Ilowt.vcr,

rnples did show thv p r c s i w w o f mcasiiralilc i irs , whili:, c:xc:c:pting sarnpli: 6, i i o counts

werc obtainc:d i i i the east-shorc samples. Samples I O arid I I wcrr takcn f r o m Pitic. k c k , the I'irst , j us t

below tlic spillway and thc :orid I'rorn a point n i w tlic wntr r intake of Pinvtlalc. I'hc rcsiilts arc pro1)ably iric1ic:ativc ol' ncgligiblc c:ontamiriation i i i l'iric Crcvk. Ilowcvcr, siricc. thcrv is some cvidencc: for thc pr(w:nw o f lic:cal colifornis aiid I'c*c:al sLrc:ptococci a t tlic water inlet, this sitc should uridcrgo more extensive testing.

O f f thc lakc, two abatidoncd h a v e r ponds arid two s t r c w n s

wcrc tcstcd ir i tlie area ol tlie Sylvari Bay summer-home colotiy (fig. 7; tal,lc 14). Sai~iplc 12 came from thc largcr 01' tlic ponds (SIT bcavtx polid, tablc IO), while sarnplvs I3 and 14 werc tahcii lroni the srriallrr pond and from a strcam al)out :IO0 I'ect 1,elow. (;oliIorni h c t r r i a were riot prcscwt i n i i thcr o f thc ponds. In contrast, sample 14 iiidic~atctl signil'icaiit coritaminatioir i t 1 thc: stwam. S c v u l summor rcsideric:cbs huilt at or just below thc Icvc~l o f he littlc p o d rriay havc: cotitributc:d scptic-tarilt t ~ l i ' l u i x i t or pit-privy Ii~achatc: j u s t above thc sampliiig sitc:.

'Hie water supply I'or tlic Sylv;ui Bay colony coincs f r o m a spring localctl upslopc from thc residential arca. Excess flow I'roin this spring and prrhiips other springs and sccps cvctltually irnitcs t o protiucc a small, rapidly flowing c:rc.ck which cmptics into Fretriotit Lakr jirst iiorth 0 1 thc Sylvan Bay picnic area.

1 hc c rwk was samplcd a t six sitcs OIL .1 illy 15 and rcwtnplet l at thrcc: of the sites on July I O (fig. 7; table 14).

1 h(:s(: resul ts show that tlic: spring was uncoiitaminatcd, but that thc crcck i n thc area acI,iacc.iit to the sumrricr-home colony was polliitc:d with l ' c d hactcria. Unfortunatcly, tlie ratio of fi:c:al c:olilorins to fwal s t rcp towcci lailcd to provide dvfinitivc, iriforrnatioii (Gcldreic:h, 1966) on whethvr the backr i a w t w o f hurniui or o f iionlirtmari origin. Moreover, animal droppings wcrc cvidciit i n the a r w . More thorough sampling will L c rcquirctl to dctrrrnilic t 1 1 ~ major soiirrc of contamination.

r 1

r 1

CONCLUSION

Frc:mont Lakc, thc seventh deepest lake iri the conterminous United Stat(-s, has a remarkably low conttmt o f DS i r i rt:latioii t o its sizc arid draitiage arca. 7'he dilutc: nature of the water, togethcr with prclirninary biological data, show that Frcmont Lake fills a spccial, l>nt poorly studid, limnological niclw. Thr resu l t s of this preliminary study clearly iridicatc that P'rcmont Lake should bc preserved in its present condition as an cc:ological h t c h m a r k .

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