Pa Ashi

I thought that this article from earth.com was interesting about the newly appeared Tulare Lake. At one time, it was the largest body of fresh water west of the Mississippi. The native Yokuts called it Pa Ashi or Big Water.

The schooner Water Witch on Tulare Lake, 1883

Historically the lake supported the largest population of indigenous people north of Mexico. The lake is back after a hundred and thirty year absence and has buried approximately 94,000 acres of farmland.

For the first time in about 130 years, Tulare Lake reappeared in California’s San Joaquin Valley, stirring both wonder and concern among locals and experts alike as it submerged almost 100,000 acres of privately owned farmland.

Vivian Underhill, a researcher formerly at Northeastern University, has been studying this unexpected phenomenon.

“Tulare Lake was the largest body of fresh water west of the Mississippi River. It’s really difficult to imagine that now,” she says.

Often dubbed the “ghost lake,” Tulare Lake vanished about 130 years ago due to extensive human intervention.

But in the spring of 2023, after massive winter storms and significant snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada, the lake roared back to life.

The water overwhelmed human-made systems designed to drain the basin, submerging thousands of acres of fertile farmland that once produced pistachios, almonds, cotton, and safflower.

One thing that I found fascinating was this passage; 

Underhill notes the historical significance, saying, “Once, there was so much water that a steamship could carry agricultural supplies from the Bakersfield area up to Fresno and then up to San Francisco.”

That’s nearly 300 miles of navigable waterways that connected communities and supported commerce.

To travelers passing through the arid San Joaquin Valley today, the existence of such a vast lake seems almost mythical.

“It’s hard to imagine such a large body of water co-existing alongside such an arid landscape,” Underhill remarks. Yet, in the 1800s, “Fresno was a lakeside town.”

Back then, Tulare Lake was fed primarily by snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada.

“There’s no natural outlet within the valley,” Underhill explains, “so the water collects to form a lake.” The indigenous Tachi Yokut tribe called it “Pa’ashi,” and it was central to their way of life.

The disappearance of Tulare Lake began in the late 1850s and early 1860s.

“The state of California’s desire to take public land and put it into private ownership propelled the lake’s decline,” Underhill explained.

“When we say ‘public land,’ that is historically indigenous land that the state of California blanket-proclaimed as ‘public.'”

Well, I wish I could say that is surprising but I am surprised that Fresno was once a lakeside town.

Who knew?

Here is the full and fascinating report on the lake at Open Rivers.