Measuring Clear Lake by Dan Isaac

Measuring Clear Lake
by Dan Isaac

Story & Photos

C L L A E K A E R

measuring

BY DAN ISAAC

Cache Creek Dam

WHAT IS A RUMSEY?

I cannot tell you how many times someone has asked this question. Or, how many times I’ve got a funny look when I’ve used it to describe the water level at Clear Lake.

So… to help shed clarify the unique measurement, I thought I would give it an explanation. When I began, I believed it would be an easy task.

Then, I began to do some research and realized that while the question that

is usually asked is “what” is a Rumsey,

the question really should be, “who” was

Rumsey?

Huh? What? I though the lake level of

Clear Lake was measured in Rumsey?

It is, absolutely correct. The lake level

is measured by a gauge known as the

Rumsey gauge. However, this gauge is

not a special instrument as most would

think; it’s a simple vertical gauge that

was developed here in Lake County

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