TULE LAKE #1

First It's About Farming

Like the Fall River Valley, many in the Tule Lake area make a living on what water provides. As the names suggests, one gets water from rivers and the other from a lake. Delivery of Tule Lake water comes via irrigation pipes (above).

From 1908 to 1930 one of the larger bodies of water in a chain of lakes was dredged and converted to farmland. That would be Tule Lake, which is considered a part of the Upper Klamath Basin. This drainage covers portions of California and Oregon.

All that reclaimed farmland has been generous with its bounty. Besides grain, the area produces potatoes, sugar beets and alfalfa. A sizable amount of horseradish is grown here too. On a summer day, the aroma coming from a field of this leafy rootstock is wonderfully aromatic and not at all suggestive of the taste.

I found the interior of this John Deere dealer in nearby Merrill, Oregon, to be full of farm machinery antiques. It's a little hard to see but who knew there were so many different and collectable versions of tractor seats.

Though 100 miles removed from the Fall & Pit River areas previously mentioned, there is still a common denominator - Mt. Shasta. Away from the lake itself, things are not so green - much more the arid landscape. 40 air miles away and 700' higher, the desert defines the landscape as much as the mountain does.