Cisco Sonar-Bryce Nielson

 Why is Bear Lake a different color this spring?

This is a natural occurrence that happens on years where a tremendous amount of water is

diverted into the lake from the Bear River during the spring. Since this water comes from

upland sources and is warmer than the existing lake water it floats on the surface. Because it

has more nutrients than the water in Bear Lake, phytoplankton and zooplankton bloom and

turn the water greenish. It happened before in 2011 when the lake came up nine feet. Bear

Lake is a carbonate lake and in time will absorb these nutrients and they will precipitate out and

the lakes natural blue out will return to its normal color. It is a natural occurrence and it just

illustrates that varied dynamics on this unique body of water.