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Lake Elsinore

USA / California / Lakeland Village /
 lake, water, reservoir
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One of the largest natural lakes in Southern California.

Originally part of the "Laguna grant" when owned by Spaniards, Margaret Collier Graham, whose husband Donald Graham (The two, along with Margaret's brother William, comprise the "WIL-" "-DO-" and "-MAR" of the portmanteau word Wildomar, which is what they named an area of land they later sold.) was a partner in the purchase and subdivision of the Laguna grant, chose the name "Elsinore" for the town because she loved Shakespeare (Hamlet takes place in Elsinore, Denmark. Also, the local AAA baseball team's mascot is named Hamlet for this reason.)

Known for its skydiving capabilities, the area to the Southeast of the lake (the flood plain) is somewhat famous among skydiving aficionados.

The area was famous in the early 20th century as a resort for celebrities. There was gambling, hot springs, and lazy days on the lake. The famous evangelical preacher who staged her own kidnapping, Sister Aimee Semple MacPherson, (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aimee_Semple_McPherson) even built her mansion near the shores of the lake. This all changed when the lake dried up in the 1930's. It was refilled in the 60's and since then, the Canyon Lake Dam has primarily been used to regulate the amount of water Lake Elsinore receives so this economically detrimental event doesn't happen again.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Elsinore
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   33°39'26"N   117°20'29"W

Comments

  • George President (guest)
    Eh, it's pretty good.
  • ArcanuSerro (guest)
    Also, a great place to get some excellent Italian food at Vincenzo's Olive Tree restaurant. (Incidently, I'm not affiliated with the restaurant.)
  • Geografeast (guest)
    There is great Italian food on Main Street right downtown.
  • Jellyfishluva76 (guest)
    Ya it's a pretty nice place, I heard the lake wasn't the best. The Class A team plays there " The storm "
  • thedude (guest)
    it's okay now. it has been much worse before
  • dirtysubie
    The famous area where Ken Block jumped his Subaru STI like some 200 odd feet...That guy has been hanging around Travis Pastrana too much...pretty soon he will try a backflip in his subie
  • Reality Check (guest)
    The lake is choking with algae and the druggies are choking on Funyuns. Here's a tip for ya. Double check to make sure you lock your car if you run into the local Vons for some last minute lotto tickets.
  • gwiorse (guest)
    is the lake drying up? and does anyone swim in it?
  • robby48
    During heavy spring runoff the lake swallows shoreline real eatate and then it's named Lake Fillsomemore. After the long, hot and dry summer there's dead fish and blooming algae then it's called Lake Smellsomemore.
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This article was last modified 9 years ago