Borax Lake

[tomf]

I drove past Borax Lake last friday, so I took a couple of pictures. This is where fluted points and crescents were discovered and it gives it's name to a major pattern that characterizes early (and mid) archaic assemblages in north and central California. The earliest dated artifacts - fluted points and crescents - belong to the Post Pattern that is thought to be contemporary to Clovis, and is part of Western Pluvial Lake Tradition. Post Pattern gave way to Borax Lake Pattern which grew and established itself over vast areas and lasted three thousand years.
Borax Lake is tucked in a small valley right next to Clear Lake. Clear Lake is the largest freshwater lake in California (Tahoe is shared with Nevada) and the oldest in the United States. The only western pluvial lake that never dried up and has been continuously occupied for at least 12000 years. Todays inhabitants are a mixed bunch but the lake is still home to several Pomo rancherias and native presence is strong.
Nearly everything I find in Napa County is descended from, or influenced by, the culture of Clear Lake.



Two views of Borax Lake. Top is view North to South, below is East to West. Lak-36, the site that established both the Post Pattern and the Borax Lake Pattern, is situated in the old walnut orchard in the far left of picture above.

Below, today's natives of Clear Lake.

[redrocks]

Nice pics Tom...thx for the history lesson!

[willjo]

Really neat historical text and beautiful scenery Tom

[SDhunter]

Thanks for sharing Tom

[beatup1354]

that place is so cool i really like that region

[Missouri Breaks]

Good stuff. When I compare to all the sites I’ve been on, that just looks like a site. Is there a name for that tree covered hill I wonder?

[Pointblank]

Tom,
Nice write up on Borax Lake and a beautiful area, but aren't there other pluvial lakes that didn't dry up like Pyramid Lake?

[tomf]

Of course you are right. I meant to have written "one of the" in front of that statement. Pyramid Lake (and Warner Lake) are remnants of Lohantan, (part of Great Basin) and squarely in Western Pluvial Lake tradition territory. It's Clear Lake that is the outlier.

[Cecilia]

Nice Tom, very nice!

[Narrow Way Knapper]

Very interesting, my Pop told me that he used to work for a Borax company in California. Wonder if that lake or aria had anything to do with it?

[SDhunter]

Would love to explore around there

[SurfaceHunter]

Button your shirt Tom lol

[clovisoid]

I've read & studied about the Borax Lake sites and complex, have a bunch of crescents from there, but to be honest I have never seen an actual decent picture of the site before. (Lots of ground level pictures of the excavations and trenches.)

It is completely different than I had expected. First it's tiny, and second it's an actual lake. I knew it had water still, but I guess I just pictured it being like the rest of the Pleistocene lakes (Tulare, Buena Vista, Mojave, China Lake, etc. etc.) which are all huge dry lake beds or seasonal marshes at best. Pretty darned cool. (I also never realized how far north it is.)

[sailorjoe]

Hi Tom. I'm glad you decided to stop and take photos as you were driving nearby the lake. If not, I'd probably not gotten my anthropology lesson for the day. Good job. It's good to be starting my day off by learning some new things.