The Unknown Files writes “This time we’ll be staying here in California only we wont be looking for hairy upright hominids stalking the deserts, but traveling to the largest natural lake in the Golden state to visit something supposedly lurking beneath it’s waters. ..”
Richard W
Thought it was another large lake Nessie, but the drought situations seem for that to be improbable. Interesting!
Gary B
As a child, Lake Elsinore was a destination I visited on several occasions with my parents and siblings.
My grandparents, aunt and uncle and two cousins lived in the city of Elsinore. The town at the time in early 60’s, was reasonably close to the lake shore. I remember asking several people, including family how deep the lake was. I was always told the lake was a shallow lake, not much more than a minimum of 27 feet to a maximum of 42 feet deep. The clarity of water always resembled a dirty mud puddle according to my memory. Considering the average water depth and minimal oxygen levels, it is difficult to even imagine a fantasy creature living healthy in that muddy, shallow lake and remain elusive. There was always dead fish washing up on the shore, carried on waves created by speed boats and an abundance of skier’s. For me at that age, the lake was most famous for the raging 2nd degree sunburns I recieved and the cloudy lake water that left dirt deposits in my eyes. Sea Monster Nessie swimming the incredible depths of a Fiord is more believable to me. An oversized pollywog might live in the lake and be quite happy!
Gary B
I located a short article (link below) that describes a time when Lake Elsinore dried up completely due to drought conditions. There has been multiple cycles, over time, when lake filling and going drying has occurred. The dried lake bed image seen within the story shows the dry dust bowl in its entirety, end to end. The dry lake bed is basically a small indentation that holds only a modest reservoir of water when full. To make the lake even more inhospitable to living creatures, there is the pervasive and wide spread presence of Sulphur found in the lake bed soil. Sulphur in that area leeches into private water wells and always taints Lake Elsinore.
How can a very large, slithering lake creature, large enough to rise up out of the water to the height of a light pole as described, live healthy in a muddy, Sulphur-Stink lake of very shallow depths, and still remain elusive and not be chopped up by boat propellers skimming over the top of its body much of the time? In my mind, Lake Elsinore, does not fit the image of an environment that can support such as creature nor provide the tranquil depths where it could hide safely. And, what might it possibly eat when the lake water is heavily Sulphur tainted and unable to support a swimming population of aquatic food sources?
https://www.pe.com/2012/04/13/a-look-back-lake-elsinore-went-dry-in-1950s/