Blue Lake Wildlife Management Area

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources


(map link)

Out near the edge of miles and miles of flat flat flat desert is a bit of water. A pond. A pool, really. A fairly deep pool, in fact. Deep enough to attract scuba divers. I saw some with an electric pump that only allows them to go about 15 feet deep and others with actual tanks to go all the way, 60 feet down. They came with little spears and fishing poles to get fish. There's even scuba classes that come out to the lake.

00: sign among flat land
Sign for the little piece of state land among a lot of Bureau of Land Management and Air Force land

01: snake of wood
Follow the boardwalk from the sometimes muddy large parking area

02: yellow tipped clear wings
Saffron winged meadowhawk

03: stretch of blue behind reeds
Blue Lake becomes visible

I found distractions among the plants beside the boardwalk as it approaches the water, especially in the big pods from the milkweed that were letting their seeds disperse.

04: big pods leaking seeds
Milkweed pods letting their seeds go

Digression about milkweed: Those filaments are hollow and light and insulating and have been investigated as a down alternative. They stay insulating even when wet or compressed. However, they seem to need a support system to stay as a fill rather than compacting together. Mixed with down, they'll perform like an overfill. There's a current effort to bring a woven product to market. It all sounds quite interesting. I've noticed a glaring omission on the topic of how well it packs away when not in use, and sort of suspect it may not compress well. Okay, digression ended.

05: two seeds
Milkweed seeds with filaments attached

06: boardwalk end
The boardwalk ends at a short pier for the scuba divers and a walkway to a dilapidated fishing pier

08: drop off at the edge
It all drops quickly from the edge with lots of growth below

08: water and bouys
A little of the water

09: Pilot Peak
Pilot Peak across the water

10: pieces missing from a pier, then pool and distant mountains
Looking back from the end of the fishing pier, there's nearby ponds and far off Lead Mine Hills

11: more water and mountains
Ponds to the south as well as some higher mountains

12: provo lake level
Looking back at long white lines on Lead Mine Hills. The Provo level of Lake Bonneville (just a little higher than this) had tufa. Is that it?

13: water, grass, rocks
A bit of shoreline with distant peaks, Pilot Peak at the center

14: more mountains
Goshute Mountains

*Lake Bonneville photo album*




©2022 Valerie Norton
Written 7 Dec 2022


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