19 CENTRAL WASHINGTON COLUMBIA BASIN PHOTOS

This Gallery is all about water.  Coulee means "body of water" .  Grand Coulee  means HUGE body of water, backed up into Franklin  Roosevelt Lake and then distributed to the thirsty Columbia Basin.  But water is not unknown to this region.  What is now called Dry Falls  was a 400 foot tall falls 15000 years ago; then the Missoula Flood reshaped the area.  The record  still stands; this is the largest falls in the history of the world!
           The precious water, lifeblood of the Columbia Basin, when spent in its agricultural task, creates the dreamy art of potholes...drainage seep holes  from irrigating farmland to the north.
Flowers by a pothole thrive and Cattle in the Columbia Basin  grow because of this water.
            From the air, it is easy to identify Steamboat State Park; then comes Banks Lake,  Lake Lenore and Soap Lake. Before Grand Coulee Dam's massive irrigation project was completed in the 1950's, this chain of lakes fed one another in underground streams...ending in Soap Lake.  The mineral content increased with each lake, so Soap Lake was rich enough in minerals  to create foam that would rise up on the shore.  Even today,  Soap Lake can produce a thin line of foam in windy conditions.
             Those who live at Moses Lake can enjoy Potholes State Park,  fish the Potholes Reservoir, or enjoy the solitude of having Moses Lake...all to themselves.  Fantastic sunsets are not infrequent happenings.  Oh, to be a boater on Moses Lake.