Disney's Mystery Lake - Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee

Visitors to Reelfoot Lake can travel into a State Park, National Wildlife Refuge and Tennessee's Important Bird Area all at once. "Mystery Lake" and "Earthquake Lake" both refer to Reelfoot. Its background consists of legends as well as firsthand accounts of unusual happenings. A slideshow of Reelfoot Lake State Park photographs taken in January 2008 can be seen at Disney called it Mystery Lake - Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee

Disney's "The Secret of Mystery Lake"

Filmed primarily at Reelfoot Lake, "The Secret of Mystery Lake" was shown during the Disney "Mickey Mouse Club's" 1957 second season. Karl Maslowski shot the original footage as a nature documentary in the 1940's. In 1949, he called his documentary "Earthquake Lake" and narrated it himself on a lecture circuit. In 1951, a feature length film called "Mystery Lake" was produced by Larry Lansburgh using Maslowski's footage. The film was later acquired by Disney Studios and broken into seven episodes for the Mickey Mouse Club Serials.

Reelfoot Lake State Park

Reelfoot Lake State Park
3120 State Route 213
Tiptonville, TN 38079-9799

The Reelfoot Lake State Park makes a perfect vacation spot for the fishing, wildlife, or photography enthusiast. As the web site states, Reelfoot is basically a "flooded forest". Fishermen cast their lines mostly for bass, crappie, bream and catfish.

If you would rather just taste the local fish, several restaurants are located just across from the State Park Visitors Center / Museum. Boyette's has always been a local favorite. Visit their web site and call for reservations if you have your heart set on eating there.

The Park has three hiking trails, an Auto Tour, picnic facilities, fishing piers and operates two campgrounds. R.C. Donaldson Memorial Museum features exhibits, audio visual programs and a cypress boardwalk that extends out over the water. A nature center part of the museum is home to non-releasable raptors, snakes and other wildlife. Planned programs include Bald Eagle and Waterfowl Tours and Pontoon Boat Cruises.

Reelfoot Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Reelfoot NWR
4343 Highway 157
Union City, TN 38261

Reelfoot Lake National Wildlife Refuge, TN Wildlife Resources Agency and TN State Parks together manage the fish and wildlife of the upland and aquatic habitats at Reelfoot Lake. The Wildlife Refuge was established in 1941 and contains 10,428 acres. It also helps to manage water levels of the 25,000 acre Reelfoot wetlands.

Reelfoot Lake has large quantities of ducks, geese, raptors, wading birds, and shorebirds. The largest concentration of bald eagles in the continental United States over winter at Reelfoot Lake. Reelfoot NWR provides various opportunities for the public to observe wildlife in its natural habitat. They maintain two accessible observation towers; help maintain the auto tour route and trails, and provide opportunities for photography as well as for hunting and fishing. Next to their Visitor's Center a person can walk through a Backyard Watchable Wildlife Habitat Showcase which demonstrates how people can incorporate wildlife habitats into their own back yards.

Birds of Reelfoot Lake

Reelfoot Lake Complex is part of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley in Tennessee. The Mississippi Alluvial Valley in Tennessee is part of Tennessee's Important Bird Areas (IBA) program. According to the Reelfoot Lake Complex IBA web page (updated 02/19/06), the following birds use the Reelfoot Lake area.

Endangered Species: Peregrine Falcon and Least Tern

Threatened Species: Golden Eagle and Lark Sparrow

In Need of Management:
Anhinga
Least Bittern
Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret
Mississippi Kite
Bald Eagles
Northern Harrier
King Rail
Common Moorhen
Swainson's Warbler

Other birds:
American White Pelican
Rails - Yellow Rail, Black Rail, Virginia Rail, Sora
Warblers - 22 species
Lapland Longspur

Ducks often seen at Reelfoot Lake are Mallard, American Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck, Northern Pintail, and scaup species. Geese that are seen include Snow Goose, Canada Goose, White-fronted Goose. The Killdeer was the only shorebird that appeared every year during a survey between 2000 and 2004. Some of the gulls are Bonaparte's Gulls and Herring Gulls but the Ring-billed Gulls were present in the highest numbers.

A chance to see a flock of American White Pelicans at Reelfoot Lake is an awesome experience. These birds are giants compared to most other birds that pass through the area. The National Wildlife Refuge's Mountain-Prairie Region has a beautiful photograph of American White Pelicans taken by Michael Mauro.

The Forming of Reelfoot Lake

On December 16, 1811, the first of at least 2 magnitude 8 earthquakes hit the New Madrid, Missouri Area. New Madrid happens to be located just north of present day Reelfoot Lake. No fewer than 18 seismic events of at least magnitude 6 to 6.5 are believed to have taken place during the winter of 1811 to 1812. The only reason that reports of lost lives and property damage remained comparatively low was because the area where the earthquakes caused the most damage was sparsely populated by European settlers at the time. First-hand reports indicate that the edges of the Mississippi River fell into the water, the land sank, and waterfalls ran from the Mississippi River into sunken areas. People said "the Mississippi River ran backwards" when Reelfoot Lake was formed.

Links:

"The Secret of Mystery Lake"

Boyette's

National Wildlife Refuge's Mountain-Prairie Region with photograph of American White Pelicans

Reelfoot State Park

Reelfoot Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Reelfoot Lake Complex IBA