Clear Lake (Douglas County, Oregon)

Clear Lake is a natural body of water impounded by sand dunes along the Oregon Coast of the Pacific Ocean in the United States. The lake is the municipal water supply for the city of Reedsport, which lies about 4 miles (6 km) northeast of the lake. Clear Lake is closed to public access to protect the purity of the water.[1]

Clear Lake
View of the lake along U.S. Route 101
Clear Lake Show map of Oregon Clear Lake Show map of the United States
Location	near Winchester Bay
Coordinates	43°38′37″N 124°10′57″W
Lake type	Natural, oligotrophic
Primary inflows	Small intermittent streams
Primary outflows	Through Edna Lake and Clear Creek to Eel Lake
Catchment area	2 square miles (5.2 km2)
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	317 acres (128 ha)
Average depth	54 feet (16 m)
Max. depth	119 feet (36 m)
Water volume	16,600 acre feet (20,500,000 m3)
Residence time	2.7 years
Shore length1	8.7 miles (14.0 km)
Surface elevation	233 feet (71 m)
Settlements	Reedsport
References	[1][2][3]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

U.S. Route 101 runs north–south along the west side of the lake.[1] The community of Winchester Bay is north of the lake; Umpqua Lighthouse State Park and the mouth of the Umpqua River are to the northwest, and Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area runs along the coast to the west.[4] The outflow from Clear Lake is south to Edna Lake, Clear Creek, and Eel Lake.[1]

Clear Lake, at 229 feet (70 m) above sea level, is the highest of several lakes formed by dunes encroaching on Clear Creek's ancestral valley.[1] Water from this string of lakes, including Eel Lake and Tenmile Lake, flows generally south into Tenmile Creek in Coos County, which flows west into the Pacific near the community of Lakeside.[1][4]