Thousand Island Lake
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Through Glacier
The lake is named for the many small rocky islands that dot its surface. Theodore Solomons probably established the 'Thousand Island' name, as this appears on his 1896 map. John Muir called it by "Islet Lake."
Geography
The lake is within the boundaries of the Ansel Adams Wilderness of the Sierra National Forest and Inyo National Forest. Thousand Island Lake sits at the base of Banner Peak in the Ritter Range. It is the source of the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River, which flows southeast, and then west, into the San Joaquin Valley. The lake is a glacial tarn, formed in the bottom of a cirque when a glacier retreated.
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Access
Thousand Island Lake is accessible from several hiking routes:
- High Trail or River Trail: from Agnew Meadows trailhead (Inyo National Forest) – on road to Devils Postpile National Monument in Mammoth Lakes area
- John Muir Trail
- Pacific Crest Trail
- Sierra High Route
Culture
Parmelian Prints of the High Sierras is a portfolio of 18 silver gelatin photographic prints made by Ansel Adams in 1927. It was the first publication of a portfolio of his prints, produced not long after he decided to become a professional photographer, and has since been called "a landmark work in twentieth-century photography." His photograph, "Banner Peak – Thousand Island Lake", was one of the 18 chosen for the collection. The photograph also appears in the Smithsonian American Art Museum and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.