Flathead Lake, Montana is one of the cleanest in the populated world for its size and type

[steve2470]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flathead_Lake

Flathead Lake (Salish: člq̓etkʷ [3]) is the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River in the contiguous United States,[4][5] taking Red Lake (Minnesota) and Lake of the Woods to be north of the Mississippi River, rather than west of the river. With a surface area of between 191.5 sq mi (496 km2)[1] and 197 sq mi (510 km2), Flathead Lake is slightly larger than Lake Tahoe.[2] The lake is a remnant of the ancient, massive glacial dammed lake, Lake Missoula of the era of the last interglacial.[6] Flathead Lake is 27.3 mi (43.9 km) long and up to 15.5 mi (24.9 km) wide. Flathead lake has a maximum depth of 370.7 ft (113.0 m),[1] and an average of 164.7 ft (50.2 m). This makes Flathead lake deeper than the average depths of the Yellow Sea or the Persian Gulf. Polson Bay, at the lake's outlet was raised 10 ft (3.0 m) by Kerr Dam.[7] It is one of the cleanest in the populated world for its size and type.

pic from this twitter post: https://twitter.com/BetterUpdates/status/502623645454577664

[LiberalLoner]

1. I used to drink out of it as a kid. We all did. Ice cold water, even in July.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. I've been there. Stayed at a 'dude ranch' close by.

[BB1]

5. What is a 'dude ranch'?

The lake looks lovely. Is it big enough to sail in a boat?

[WoodyD]

6. Sure is

We live on the lake's east shore and have a gorgeous view of Flathead Lake. It really is that clear and we take our boat out as often as we can. It's a 22-foot open bow, which is typical of the type of boat you'll see but you might see anything from kayaks to small aluminum fishing boats to bigger cabin cruisers. The west side of the lake tends to be windier with deeper bays so if by "sail" you mean sailboat, yup. There's a sailboat club on the west shore and they often hold regattas and races. The lake is bordered by mountains and it's such a beautiful place. If you've never been here, put it on your bucket list. The best time to come is late July - early August. The lake, while still cool, is warm enough for swimming in the shallower bays and it's the height of cherry season.

A "dude ranch" is where city people come to be cowboys - horseback riding, pitchfork fondues, that kind of thing. Not my idea of a vacation since I grew up on a farm, but I'm guessing you get just the fun parts, like horseback rides, without the not-so-fun parts, like shoveling out the chicken coop and hauling hay.

[Marrah_G]

3. that is beautiful

[passiveporcupine]

4. I'd love to swim in that lake

You can even see the sharks coming!

[Ptah]

7. Careful what you wish for:

The Flathead Lake Monster is a cryptid, a creature whose existence is not proven, that is said to be located in Flathead Lake in Montana. Its appearance is very similar to that of the Loch Ness Monster, and the two have often been said to be the same type of creature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flathead_Lake_Monster

[passiveporcupine]

8. Oh noes

Swimming in the ocean, or in deep lakes terrifies me. I can't help but think of sharks in the ocean, or other monsters in deep water. I tried swimming, once, in the middle of a deep lake (diving off a boat) and I couldn't stay in the water long because it was just too creepy. That water wasn't even crystal clear like this gorgeous lake.

[steve2470]

10. Interesting, wonder if he/she is related to Nessie ? lol nt

[dougg]

9. What a beautiful, pristine lake.

Obviously it's time to start some fracking operations on its shores.

[ffr]

11. Or log all that timber.

Having it as lake habitat is such a waste!

[WoodyD]

13. Good news/not so good news

The good news is that one reason the lake is so pristine is that it's been fairly well protected from environmental damage. The not so good news is that one reason for that is so many rich people have summer homes here. Fracking and logging are for the poors. As a semi-poor, I'm glad we benefit from being in the vicinity of the rich folk, or at least where they spend a few weeks in the summer. As a former poor, I'm glad I no longer live in ND, where the place I grew up is being fracked to pieces.

[ffr]

12. That must be the other side of the lake.

The side I went boating on was like any other lake, mostly green and cloudy.

[WoodyD]

14. It does depend

on the time of year and where you were. The water tends to be cloudier in the spring with all the mountain run-off, and after a big storm if it gets stirred up. The shallower bays, like the east side of Polson Bay, are cloudier because they have vegetation. Polson Bay also tends to have more boat traffic and jet ski traffic. The bay near us is deeper with no vegetation and very little traffic, so it looks just like the picture. So much so that over the past year or so, several people have posted that same picture to my Facebook page with a comment like "Hey, is that you?"