Smith Lake (Athabascan: Tr'exwghodegi Troth Yeddha' Bena') is a lake in Fairbanks, Alaska[1] on the property of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. It is triangular in shape, roughly 980 ft × 980 ft × 1,250 ft (300 m × 300 m × 380 m).[2]

Smith Lake
Ice skater on Smith Lake, Fairbanks, Alaska. October 2020.
Location of Smith Lake in Alaska, US
Location of Smith Lake in Alaska, US
Smith Lake
Location of Smith Lake in Alaska, US
Location of Smith Lake in Alaska, US
Smith Lake
LocationFairbanks, Alaska
Coordinates64°51′57″N 147°51′50″W / 64.8658°N 147.8639°W / 64.8658; -147.8639
Typelake
Max. length980 feet (300 m)
Max. width980 feet (300 m)

The university maintains ecological and hydrological monitoring sites at the lake.[3]

Wildlife

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Smith lake is a good wildlife viewing location.[4]

Bird species found at the lake may include Pacific loons, ring-necked duck, bufflehead, American wigeon, northern pintail, northern shoveler, green-winged teal, red-necked grebe, horned grebe, Bonaparte's gull, Wilson's snipe, lesser yellowlegs, long-billed dowitcher, red-necked phalarope, pectoral sandpiper and Bohemian waxwing.[5]

Recreation

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In winter the frozen surface of Smith Lake is popular with ice skaters and cross-country skiers.[6]

Further reading

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References

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  1. ^ "Smith Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
  2. ^ Tohko Kaufmann (1971). "Ecology, Biology and Gonad Morphology of Gerris rufoscutellatus (Hemiptera: Gerridae) in Fairbanks, Alaska". American Midland Naturalist 86(2), 407-416.
  3. ^ Robert W. Lichvar, Gary A. Laursen, Rodney D. Seppelt and Walter R. Ichs (2009). "Selecting and Testing Cryptogam Species for Use in Wetland Delineation in Alaska". Arctic 62(2), 201–211.
  4. ^ "Smith Lake & the University of Alaska Fairbanks Trail System". Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Accessed 11/10/2011.
  5. ^ Sue Guers. "It’s summer in the Interior; American Golden Plovers are back in town". Archived 2012-06-15 at the Wayback Machine Fairbanks Daily News Miner, 5/18/2011.
  6. ^ Friedman, Sam (17 November 2016). "Trip report: Smith Lake is refuge for skijorers in a dry winter". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Retrieved 11 April 2021.