Rock Lake (Washington) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rock Lake |
|
|---|---|
View of Rock Lake from south end
|
|
 Rock Lake
Location in Washington (state)
Rock Lake
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Whitman County, WA |
| Coordinates | 47°10′40″N 117°41′01″W / 47.17778°N 117.68361°W |
| Type | Kolk lake |
| Primary inflows | Rock Creek |
| Primary outflows | Rock Creek |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Max. length | 7 mi (11 km) |
| Max. width | 1 mi (1.6 km) |
| Surface area | 2,190 acres (890 ha) |
| Max. depth | 375 feet (114 m) |
| Surface elevation | 1,728 ft (527 m) |
| Settlements | St. John |
Rock Lake is a very special lake located in eastern Washington. It's known for being the deepest and largest of all the lakes created by the massive Missoula Floods that happened long, long ago. Imagine a lake that's more than 360 feet (about 110 meters) deep – that's taller than a 30-story building! This long lake stretches out for about 7 miles (11 km) and is usually about 1 mile (1.6 km) wide.
You can reach Rock Lake through just one main entrance on its south end. Most of the shoreline is private or hard to get to by car.
Contents
Where is Rock Lake?
Rock Lake is found in a quiet, somewhat remote area in Whitman County, Washington. It's about 30 miles (48 km) south of a town called Cheney. Other towns like Sprague, St. John, and Rosalia are also nearby, but still a few miles away.
Most of the lake's water comes from Rock Creek, which flows into the Palouse River. Another smaller stream called Negro Creek also adds water to the lake.
How Was Rock Lake Formed?
Rock Lake is what we call a "scabland lake." This means it was formed by incredibly powerful floods that happened thousands of years ago. These floods, known as the Missoula Floods, were so strong that they carved out deep channels and left behind unique landforms, including lakes like Rock Lake. The floods swept away soil and rock, leaving behind a rocky, channeled landscape, and filling the deepest parts with water to create these lakes.
What Can You Do at Rock Lake? (Fishing Fun!)
The most popular activity at Rock Lake is fishing! Many people enjoy trying to catch different kinds of fish here. Some of the popular types of fish you might find in the lake include:
Along the eastern side of the lake, there's a long path called the John Wayne Pioneer Trail. This part of the trail isn't open to the public right now because it's on private land. However, there are plans to eventually open this section so people can enjoy walking or biking along the lake.
Why Build a Dam at Rock Lake?
The idea of building a dam at the end of Rock Lake has been around for a long time, even since the 1930s. Back then, they started to build some parts of it, but then stopped because the land was too difficult to work with.
More recently, people have become interested in building a dam here again. A group called the Palouse-Rock Lake Conservation District wants to build a dam mainly to help control the water supply for people who use water from the creek below the lake. A dam would help make sure there's a steady flow of water all year round, which is important for farms and other users. The current plans for a dam would hold a large amount of water, about 110,000 to 120,000 acre-feet.
