Digital elevation model of Walker Lake, West-Central Nevada

Walker Lake lies within a topographically closed basin in west-central Nevada and is the terminus
of the Walker River. Accurately determining the bathymetry and relations between lake-surface
altitude, surface area, and storage volume are part of a study to improve the water budget for Walker
Lake. Bathymetry of Walker Lake was measured using a single-beam echosounder coupled to a
differentially-corrected global positioning system. Lake depth was subtracted from the lake-surface
altitude to calculate the altitude of the lake bottom. A Lidar (light detection and ranging) survey and
high resolution aerial imagery were used to create digital elevation models (DEM) around Walker
Lake. All data was aquired during 2005. The altitude of the lake bottom and DEMs were merged
together to create a single DEM and was used to identify areas that are currently or that were
submerged by Walker Lake. The data sets and the procedures used to create the DEM are
described in this metadata.