Borax Lake Site facts for kids
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Borax Lake Site
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Borax Lake
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| Nearest city | Clearlake, California |
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| NRHP reference No. | 91001424 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 3, 1991 |
| Designated NHL | September 20, 2006 |
The Borax Lake Site is a very old place near Clearlake, California. It's also known as the Borax Lake—Hodges Archaeological Site. This site is super important because it shows us where people lived in what is now California about 12,000 years ago! It's like a time capsule of early human life. A special part of the site is now a National Historic Landmark. This means it's a very important place in American history.
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Discovering Ancient Life at Borax Lake
The Borax Lake site is found near the town of Clearlake. This area is in the North Coast Ranges of northern California. It's also close to Mount Konocti. The site was once a lakeshore. Over thousands of years, layers of dirt and artifacts built up. These layers go down more than 10 feet (3 meters) deep!
What Makes Borax Lake Special?
The different layers at Borax Lake tell a long story. They show that people lived here again and again over a very long time. This includes periods from about 12,000 years ago all the way to today. One of the most exciting discoveries here are special stone tools. These are called Clovis-style spear points. They are made from a shiny black rock called obsidian. This obsidian probably came from the Borax Lake area itself.
How the Site Was Found and Studied
A person named Chester Post first found the Borax Lake site in the 1930s. He was an amateur collector, meaning he found old things as a hobby. Chester told Mark Raymond Harrington about the site. Mark Harrington was an archaeologist from the Southwest Museum. He was the first expert to study the site carefully.
At first, some people wondered if the site was really as old as Mark Harrington thought. It was much older than other sites known in the region. But in the 1960s, scientists did more tests. They confirmed that the site was indeed about 12,000 years old. Later studies have shown even more about the site. They describe it as an old lakeshore that slowly got smaller over time. This was one of the first places in northern California to show human life in such an ancient lakeside setting.
Protecting This Important Place
In 1989, a group called the Archaeological Conservancy bought part of Borax Lake. This group works to protect important archaeological sites. Borax Lake was the first site they helped save in California. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Then, in 2006, it was named a National Historic Landmark. This shows how truly special and important the Borax Lake Site is for understanding early human history in California.
