located at the kiosk. Thank you! Thank kiosk. the at located Otherwise, please return it to the box the to it return please Otherwise, Feel free to keep this trail guide. trail this keep to free Feel Clark County Clean Water Program Water Clean County Clark Funded by the by Funded lark.wa.gov www.c the Clark County website at website County Clark the Or, check out the Clean W Clean the out check Or, ater Program on Program ater Email [email protected]; Email or Guide extension 4345; extension 397-6118, at (360) at Clean Water Program Water Clean Call Clark County County Clark Call this trail guide: trail this For more information about the program or program the about information more For Trail our waterways. our mandate to reduce the amount of pollution in pollution of amount the reduce to mandate helps fund and implement a federally required federally a implement and fund helps The Clark County Clean Water Program Water Clean County Clark The Interpretive learn more about the lakes. the about more learn Cronquist, Ownbey, and Thompson and Ownbey, Cronquist, the Park and follow it back to the kiosk to kiosk the to back it follow and Park the , by Hitchcock, by , Northwest Pacific the of Plants Vascular Turn left onto the paved trail into trail paved the onto left Turn bridge. Lake Loop Lake MacKinnon Andy walkway on the east side of the highway the of side east the on walkway , by Jim Pojar and Pojar Jim by , Coast Northwest Pacific the of Plants gravel shoulder across the pedestrian the across shoulder gravel , by Peter B. Moyle B. Peter by , Guide Enthusiasts An Fish, tion with Everett Road and follow the follow and Road Everett with tion Road, then turn left (south) at the intersec- the at (south) left turn then Road, C. Stebbens C. Round Robert by Amphibians and Reptiles Western to Guide Field Continue on the left shoulder of Leonard of shoulder left the on Continue Georgaphic Society Georgaphic National America, North of Birds the to Guide Field your right to 26-acre Round Lake on your left. your on Lake Round 26-acre to right your publications: Continued from inside.... inside.... from from Continued Continued Continued from inside.... from Continued Continued from inside.... inside.... from from Continued Continued References used for this guide are from the following the from are guide this for used References Round Lake Loop Trail Approximate walking time - 45 minutes Round Lake Loop Over-flow Parking lot Interpretive Trail L eo nar Guide d R 16 oa his guide describes various water related d Tfeatures around Round Lake which corre- ot spond to numbered trail-side posts. l g Rest 15 n i Rooms The 1.2 mile loop trail has short sections of k r a moderately steep terrain and crosses a dam with P hand rails where children should be closely Kiosk supervised. 12 The kiosk at the interpretive trail’s starting 1 14 point presents a more comprehensive picture of 2 d 11 both Round and Lacamas Lakes, their water- a 13 o sheds and history, and what you can do to help R t 3 t e r protect water quality. e v E 4 Round Lake After following the interpretive trail, take a 5 Lily Fields second look at the more detailed kiosk informa- Dam tion to see how nature and humans influence 6 lakes and their watersheds. 7 10 L o 8 w The first post is about 500 feet to the right e r L a c (south) when looking at the kiosk from the main a m a 9 s paved trail, just beyond where the trail changes C r e e to gravel. k Recycled cedar posts were used to mark this Pothole interpretive trail. Falls After finishing the trail, please return this trail guide to the Open to inside to begin your self- kiosk box for others to use. guided tour of Round Lake 1 Healthy lake-side (riparian) Lacamas Creek. The newer concrete buttresses atmospheric oxygen as it tumbles down this trees, such as these Douglas Fir on each side of the dam and the emergency ravine, benefiting aquatic organisms in the stream and Western Red Cedar, protect overflow you just walked past help ensure the and lake, such as crayfish and salamanders. the shoreline from erosion, provide dam’s safety during flooding periods. The hand- During the dry season, most of the water in small wildlife habitat, and create shade to operated gate valves in the center of the dam tributary streams like this one comes from help keep the water cool. These control the lake’s surface height and the amount groundwater. Because this water may enter the buffer areas also filter out pollutants of water released over the spillway. ground a great distance away before they reach the water. As you Western Red Cedar from the lake, it is impor- Looking out from this platform, the walk, note the differences between this site and 7 tant to keep groundwater others around the lake. bottom of the dam shows the height of the clean throughout the natural lake outflow prior to the twelve foot rise watershed. The exposed tree roots on these steep slopes in the lake’s level caused by the dam. Evidence of Crayfish 2 near the lake’s edge suggest recent soil erosion. scouring and broken off chunks of Troutdale Continue down the hill This erosion has been accelerated by heavy foot Formation bedrock below the dam testify to the and take the short side trail onto the traffic that compacts soils and damages plants. erosive power of water over time. The viewing platform extending Please be careful and tread lightly near the shore. cool, moist microclimate generated by the into the lake. outflow promotes the lush vegetation This waterbody, Mill Pond, is Rough Skinned Newt /Salamander Seasonal changes in 3 clinging to the steep sides of this natural 13 held back by a dam across an ravine. the appearance of the lake can be old natural side channel. Its seen from this viewing platform. During the wet Painted Turtle water is sent through a 7,000 foot The canopy of trees here provides a cooler, season, the lake water is cloudy with fine sus- 8 aqueduct to the paper mill in downtown Camas. darker microclimate for shade-tolerant plants like pended sediment that originated from erosion in However, it also provides valuable wildlife mosses, ferns, shrubs, and understory trees, such the watershed. During the dry season, the habitat. Waterfowl and turtles warm as vine maple, which in turn help to protect the greenish color of the lake is from millions of themselves in the sun while resting shoreline areas. microscopic algae feeding on the rich nutrients in on the dead trees rising out the water. These algae and other larger plants Take a sharp right turn here of the pond’s water. 9 form the base of the lake’s food web. They are and follow the side-trail about 400 fed upon by microscopic animals, insects, and feet to view the “potholes” from the snails which are eaten by fish, which in turn are Wood Duck fenced overlook (return on the same eaten by birds, mammals, and humans. To your right is a rotating fish screen trail). Fast swirling water carries loose 4 Vine Maple and the main dam on Round Lake. The rocks which grind holes in the softer The bridge over this wetland allows you 14 large, self-cleaning mesh drum Troutdale Formation. to get a close-up view of a wetland plant com- helps prevent fish and munity without getting wet. Here you may see the debris from entering Mill Please stay to the left and on the main following plants: tall Common Cattail (Typha Pond through the channel trail as you go through the remaining trail latifolia) with long strap-like leaves and brown Bluegill Sunfish connecting it to Round Lake. intersections. spike flowers during the summer; grasslike Please do not damage the sunfishes’ spawning Common Rush (Juncaceae) with round cross- This massive boulder’s rounded surface nests which are scooped out in the nearby shal- 10 sections and sharp pointed tips; and Common and huge size suggest it was rolled along by lows. The log boom in front of the dam catches Duckweed (Lemnaceae) consisting of many tiny enormous, extremely fast moving flows. Most large floating debris that might otherwise block circular plant bodies floating on the water surface. the dam’s spillway. likely it was carried to this area over 12,000 years ago by the prehistoric Missoula Floods. These Leaning out over and The diverse aquatic plant community under recurring floods originated in Montana’s Rocky 15 5 floating on the lake are several the water’s surface provides habitat Mountains when advancing glaciers dammed large fallen trees. These snags for insects, amphibians, reptiles, and rivers, backing up volumes of water on the scale enrich the lake habitat by provid- fish. Look here and elsewhere on the of the present day Great Lakes. The rising water ing perches for birds of prey and lake for common aquatic plant leaf behind these ice dams eventually caused them to waterfowl as well as cover for shapes to help identify float and rapidly break apart, suddenly releasing fish. When the lake is very low them: South American gigantic volumes of water, ice, and rocks. The you may see the top of a few Waterweed’s (Elodea tremendous flood waters rushed through old-growth tree stumps, densa) short, dense the Columbia Gorge, exiting as a wall of hinting at how much leaves attached to long water over 500 feet high and moving at smaller the lake was Common Waterweed flowing stems; Pond 50 miles per hour.