Sign is located at the Sparks Lake boat ramp.
Marker Name: Where Does The Water Go?
Marker Text: When Mt. Bachelor erupted 10,000 years ago, a natural rock dam formed and began to capture snowmelt and rainwater. This formed Sparks Lake which has no visible surface outlet. Instead, water leaks out through fractures and cracks in the lava rock.
Listen carefully along the shoreline and you will hear gurgling and sucking sounds — the lake is literally draining away. Water disappears into the rocks and flows through layers of gravels and old lavas until it encounters an impermeable layer of rocks which forces the groundwater to surface as a spring.
This water goes to places like Snow Creek, Quinn Creek, and Little Lava Lake, the headwaters for the Deschutes River. Sparks Lake has a secret: It’s the unofficial source of the Deschutes River.
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