Moses Lake
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| Moses Lake | |
|---|---|
| Location | Grant County, Washington |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Lake type | natural lake, reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Crab Creek |
| Primary outflows | Potholes Reservoir |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface elevation | 1,090 ft (332 m) |
Moses Lake is a lake and reservoir along the course of Crab Creek, in Washington state, USA.
Moses Lake is part of the Columbia River basin, as Crab Creek is a tributary of the Columbia River.
Although originally a shallow natural lake, Moses Lake was dammed in the early 1900s for irrigation purposes. It then became part of the Columbia Basin Project, built and managed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. Moses Lake receives water from Crab Creek, as well as from irrigated agricultural runoff. Its water used to flow out into Crab Creek, but now flows into Potholes Reservoir, a storage reservoir created by the impounding Crab Creek at O'Sullivan Dam.
Moses Lake is fairly complex in shape, with several arms, called "horns". These horns include Lewis Horn, Parker Horn, and Pelican Horn. There are several islands in Moses Lake, including Crest Island, Marsh Island, Gaileys Island, and Goat Island.
Moses Lake was named after Chief Moses in the late 1800s. The city of Moses Lake was, in turn, named after the lake.[1]
