Elizabeth Lake is a perennial sag pond atop the San Andreas fault. During non-drought years it has been a year-round oasis and recreation destination for water sports and boating, but in recent years it has mostly been a dry lake-bed at the center of a chaparral landscape. When the lake dries out, it is mostly due to extended droughts and declining watershed levels, and during droughts the lake can shrink or even dry out. A small, genetically important population of western pond turtles, the only remaining native freshwater turtle species in California, occurs in Elizabeth Lake. By 2015, low water levels left the turtles without food or suitable habitat, and a rescue mission moved them to a nearby pond with the food and water required for their survival. Nearby, the community of Lake Hughes became a mountain resort destination in the early 1900s, the 5 mile Elizabeth Tunnel was built in 1911 for the First LA Aqueduct carrying water from the Eastern Sierra to Los Angeles, and the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail runs 2,450 miles from the Mexican to the Canadian border.