Cropley Lake is an alpine lake

Alpine lake

Alpine lakes are classified as lakes or reservoirs at high altitudes, usually starting around 5,000 feet in elevation above sea level or above the tree line....

 in the City and Borough of Juneau

Juneau, Alaska

The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...

, Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

, United States. Located on Douglas Island

Douglas Island

Douglas Island is a tidal island in the U.S. state of Alaska, just west of downtown Juneau and east of Admiralty Island. It is separated from mainland Juneau by the Gastineau Channel. The Juneau-Douglas Bridge, connecting the island with Juneau, provides a two lane road to and from the island and...

, it is 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of Table Top Mountain

Table Top Mountain (Juneau, Alaska)

Table Top Mountain is a mountain in the city and borough of Juneau, Alaska, United States. It is a peak of the Boundary Ranges, located on Douglas Island northeast of Cropley Lake and west of the city of Juneau....

, and 5 miles (8 km) southwest of the city of Juneau. Cropley Lake is the source of Fish Creek

Fish Creek (Douglas Island, Juneau, Alaska)

Fish Creek is a river on Douglas Island in the City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska, United States. Its origin is Cropley Lake, and it flows into Fritz Cove, a part of Stephens Passage. It is northwest of the city of Juneau....

.

History

It is named after Isaac Cropley, a miner who worked in the Juneau area from around 1887 until his death in 1913. The name was collected by the United States Geological Survey

United States Geological Survey

The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...

 between 1976 and 1981, and entered into the Geographic Names Information System

Geographic Names Information System

The Geographic Names Information System is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States of America and its territories. It is a type of gazetteer...

 on March 31, 1981.

In 1975, the Juneau Lions Club

Lions Clubs International

Lions Clubs International is a secular service organization with over 44,500 clubs and more than 1,368,683 members in 191 countries around the world founded by Melvin Jones Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States, the organization aims to meet the needs of communities on a local and...

 built a trail from the Eaglecrest Ski Area

Eaglecrest Ski Area

Eaglecrest Ski Area is a public ski area on Douglas Island in the U.S. state of Alaska, across Gastineau Channel from Juneau. The area has 4 double chairlifts accessing , with 34 marked alpine runs, 3 Nordic skiing loops and access to world class backcountry. Vertical drop is with an average...

 to the lake. It was used actively for about ten years, but a lack of maintenance cause the trail to become overgrown. The trail was between 1.5 and 2 mi (2.4 and 3.2 km) long. On June 7, 2010, the Juneau Assembly

Assembly of the City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska

The Assembly of the City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska is the local government of Juneau, Alaska, United States, and the surrounding area. Headed by the mayor of Juneau, the assembly consists of nine members, elected in rotating tranches to three-year terms. Elections are held on the first Tuesday...

 was to appropriate a $133,180 grant from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources

Alaska Department of Natural Resources

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is a department within the government of Alaska. The Department of Natural Resources develops, conserves and enhances natural resources for present and future Alaskans....

 to fund improvements to a nearby trail from the Eaglecrest lodge to a bridge over Fish Creek. Excess funds were to be used to build a new trail to Cropley Lake. Planned improvements to the Eaglecrest Ski Area include a day-use cabin at Cropley Lake. In the 1990s, the ski area used about 218000 gal of water from the lake every day and a total of about 79574000 gal per year. The water is used for hydroelectric power generation.

Skiers have had some close run-ins with avalanche

Avalanche

An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...

s near the lake, including in 1987 and on March 1, 2001.

Wildlife and climate

Just below the lake there is a barrier to prevent upstream fish movement. Between June 26 and 27, 2010, Juneau-area scientists conducted a two-day wildlife survey of the Cropley Lake/Fish Creek drainage area. Dolly Varden trout

Dolly Varden trout

The Dolly Varden trout, Salvelinus malma malma, is a subspecies of anadromous fish in the salmon family, and is technically a char. Although many of the fish are anadromous, the fish also exists in landlocked waters.- Range :The subspecies S. m...

 has been noted residing in the lake. The fish in the lake are small, ranging from 6 to 10 in (15.2 to 25.4 cm). A single Clark's Nutcracker

Clark's Nutcracker

Clark's Nutcracker , sometimes referred to as Clark's Crow or Woodpecker Crow, is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae. It is slightly smaller than its Eurasian relative the Spotted Nutcracker . It is ashy-grey all over except for the black-and-white wings and central tail feathers...

 was seen at the lake on July 5, 1975.

Cropley Lake is located in a cirque

Cirque

Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...

. The soil around the shores of the lake consists mainly of muskeg

Muskeg

Muskeg is an acidic soil type common in Arctic and boreal areas, although it is found in other northern climates as well. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bogland but muskeg is the standard term in Western Canada and Alaska, while 'bog' is common elsewhere. The term is of Cree origin, maskek...

 covering till

Till

thumb|right|Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material , and this characteristic, known as matrix support, is diagnostic of till....

 (glacial sediment) above bedrock

Bedrock

In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...

. Trees on the shore are up to about 400 years old. The lake is naturally dammed but also has two small man-made dams to raise its level.