Muckraking Mendota: The Color of Water

By Emily Hilts
This week I had the privilege of returning to Trout Lake Station to help with the annual public open house. Sitting on the dock felt like coming home, and I let out a deep sigh of happiness at the sight of one of my favorite lakes. Why? I guess because Trout just looks so beautiful and is site of so many memories – no special scientific explanation there.

A drop from a canoe paddle bounces off the surface of deep blue Trout Lake. Photo: E. Hilts A drop from a canoe paddle bounces off the surface of deep blue Trout Lake. Photo: E. Hilts
A drop from a canoe paddle bounces off the surface of deep blue Trout Lake. Photo: E. Hilts

The nature writer, Edward Abbey, wrote in his famous book Desert Solitaire, “For my own part I am pleased enough with surfaces – they alone seem to me to be of much importance.” For most of this blog, I’ve been arguing the opposite, that the surface of a lake shields us from its inner workings. But the surface of a lake can reveal much about its true character. After all, not all lakes are the same blue color, or even blue at all. But why? Keep reading –>