World Wildlife Day: Celebrating The Magic Of Upper Klamath Lake, One Of Earth’s Most Unique Ecosystems

At Saluz Health, we consider ourselves to be extremely lucky. Why? Because we have the privilege of sharing earth’s nutritional abundance. In doing so, we also get to interact first-hand with one of the cleanest, healthiest, and unique ecosystems in the world! The Klamath Basin, located in South-central Oregon, USA.  

More specifically, our home rests in the waters of the Upper Klamath Lake. 

What makes this place so special? Besides the fact that our all-natural, organic AFA alga grows 100% wild and is sustainably harvested on the lake. The same factors that make AFA so nutritionally powerful also contribute to the robust health of the surrounding ecosystem. 

The perfect storm of factors make Upper Klamath Lake and the neighboring basin a naturally supercharged environment where life thrives!

The area’s most pivotal historical event was the eruption of Mount Mazama over 7000 years ago–which showered the entire Pacific Northwest in ash. This ash was loaded with over 70 trace and precious minerals from deep within the earth, and after the initial eruption, settled into topsoil and watersheds.

Drastically stimulating the growth cycles of the regions habitats, the saturation of minerals have since acted as an all-natural fertilizer. To this day you can find mineral deposits on the bed of the lake up to 90 feet thick and studies show that flora and fauna in the Klamath Basin region are roughly 30% bigger than the national averages! 

“Without a doubt it's the minerals that make the ecosystem in this area so special. Everything just grows bigger,” says Shannon Hamilton, who has spent the last 25 years living on the shores of Klamath Lake and is one of the pioneers of AFA harvesting, “I regularly reel in 32-inch trout, and if you know anything about the world of trout fishing, those numbers are pretty unheard of.”

Upper Klamath Lake is also supported by non-stop flow of fresh, pure, mountain spring water from over 17 different rivers and streams, making it one of the cleanest Lakes in North America. 

These unfettered, pristine waters give Upper Klamath its standing for OTCO certification (Oregon Tilth Certified Organic)–which requires rigorous bi-monthly water quality checks, and is only provided to a handful of natural spaces each year. 

Pretty neat, huh? 

In fact, the health of the water also allows a rare species of algae called Mare's Eggs to thrive at the mouth of the rivers and springs in the shallows of the lake. Mare’s Eggs are one of the largest single celled organisms in the world and they require such pristine environments to grow that their presence is commonly used as a measure of water purity. 

Thanks to the high amounts of mineral nutrients from a volcanic superevent, consistent flows of pristine water, and close to 300 days of sun per year, Upper Klamath Lake supports AFA alga and it’s fellow plants and animals with the perfect conditions to shine with health! There are not many places on the planet that support the cycles of life so well, and we are extremely grateful to call it home.

In sharing and spreading awareness about the Upper Klamath, we also hope to conserve it. We recognize the need to respect and protect the environment through sustainable practices, as it's the only way to move in a positive direction when it comes human’s relationship with nature. Which is why we are 1% For The Planet certified, pledging 1% of our annual revenue to environmental causes, such as preservation efforts for the Upper Klamath Lake and the surrounding Klamath Basin.

Perhaps the most important of them all was the eruption of Mount Mazama over 7000 years ago–which showered the entire Pacific Northwest in ash. Fortunately, this ash was loaded with over 70 trace and precious minerals from deep within the earth and after the initial eruption, settled into the topsoil of the region, saturating it with minerals that became an all-natural fertilizer, drastically stimulating the growth of the surrounding ecosystem. Studies show that flora and fauna in the Crater Lakes National Park region are roughly 30% bigger than the national averages!

“Without a doubt it's the minerals that make the ecosystem in this area so special. Everything just grows bigger,” says Shannon Hamilton, who has spent the last 25 years living on the shores of Klamath Lake and is one of the pioneers of AFA harvesting, “I regularly reel in 32-inch trout, and if you know anything about the world of trout fishing, those numbers are pretty unheard of.”

On top of that, Upper Klamath has a consistent flow of fresh, pure, mountain spring water from over 17 different rivers and streams, making it one of the cleanest Lakes in North America. So clean in fact, that a rare species of algae called Mare's Eggs thrive at the mouth of the rivers and springs in the shallows of the lake. Mare’s Eggs are one of the largest single celled organisms in the world and they require such pristine environments to grow that their presence is commonly used as a measure of water purity. The lake is also OTCO certified (Oregon Tilth Certified Organic)–which requires rigorous bi-monthly water quality checks, and only given to a handful of natural spaces each year. 

There are not many places on the planet that support the cycles of life so well, and we are eternally grateful to be able to interact with this natural environment. Thanks to the high amounts of mineral nutrients, consistent flows of pristine water, and close to 300 days of sun per year Klamath Lake and its surrounding habitats are beaming with life!