Tule Lake

Lake in northern California, on the Modoc Plateau, near the Oregon border; area 5,265 ha/13,000 acres. It was much reduced in the 20th century to create cropland. With Lower Klamath Lake and Clear Lake, it is a magnet for waterfowl, and is within a National Wildlife Refuge.

The city of Tulelake (population (1990) 1,000) is to the north. To the south is the Lava Beds National Monument. The area was central in the Modoc War (1872–73). In 1942–46 nearly 19,000 Japanese-Americans were interned at two sites near Tule Lake.