Round Lake

Shore zone (littoral) showing characteristic Chara Bench with emergent rushes (Typha-Scirpus) surrounding most of the lake.

• T32N R36E Sec. 7 NW 1/4

• Elevation approx. 2275 ft. msl (693.4 m msl)

• Surface area 52.8 acres (21.4 ha)

• Volume 1584 acre feet (1,953,072 m3)

• Maximum depth 10.5 m (September 28, 1988)

• Watershed -- Inchelium

Round Lake is a 52.8 acre lake situated in a large flat area between forested hills on the north side of Moon Mountain about 5.8 miles west of Inchelium. The lake is fed by Cornstalk Creek which enters from North Twin Lake through an extensive marsh system on the west side of the lake. The lake is drained from the east by Cornstalk Creek, which then flows to Stranger Creek and ultimately to the Columbia River (Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake). The low shores of Round Lake are predominantly covered with grasses, Typha sp., Scirpus sp., Salix sp., and Alnus incana. The emergent vegetation observed at the launch on the north shore also included Sparganium emersum var. multipedunculatum , Eleocharis palustris, megalodonta beckii (= Bidens cernua), an unidentified mint, Equisetum sp., and Veronica sp. The lake is surrounded by a Typha-Scirpus band of varying widths parallel to the shore. The band appears to be contiguous with the shoreline vegetation. Some Potentilla palustris was present along the south shore in the Typha-Scirpus band.

The Round Lake basin is circular and steep-sided with a flat bottom, typical of a Chara bench lake. The shores of the lake consist of marl precipitated by the abundant growth of Chara. Masses of Chara (a large algal plant) can be seen under water in the photo above.