Lake Lenore, also known as Lenore Lake, is located in
Grant County, Washington
Grant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 99,123. The county seat is Ephrata, and the largest city is Moses Lake. The county was formed out of Douglas County in February 19 ...
, United States. It is a lake formed by the
Missoula Floods in the lower
Coulee
Coulee, or coulée ( or ), is any of various different landforms, all of which are kinds of valleys or drainage zones. The word ''coulee'' comes from the Canadian French ''coulée'', from French ''couler'' 'to flow'.
The term is often used ...
just north of the town of
Soap Lake, Washington
Soap Lake is a city in Grant County, Washington, Grant County, Washington (state), Washington, on the shores of Soap Lake. The population was 1,691 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
History
Soap Lake was officially incorporated on ...
. It is situated between Alkali Lake to the north and
Soap Lake to the south. The lake is rather narrow, but long. The length of the lake runs north–south alongside
State Route 17 leading from near the city of
Soap Lake to
Coulee City. The lake also consists of more than 7 islands.
Lenore Canyon is a
coulee
Coulee, or coulée ( or ), is any of various different landforms, all of which are kinds of valleys or drainage zones. The word ''coulee'' comes from the Canadian French ''coulée'', from French ''couler'' 'to flow'.
The term is often used ...
associated with the development of the
Scablands
The Channeled Scablands are a relatively barren and soil-free region of interconnected relict and dry flood channels, coulees and cataracts eroded into Palouse loess and the typically flat-lying basalt flows that remain after cataclysmic floods ...
.
One of the interesting areas around Lake Lenore is the Lenore Caves. Located at the northern end of the lake, the Lenore Caves are a series of overhangs along the cliffs at the lake. They exist in one of the largest volcanic regions on Earth.
Lenore Caves
The Lenore Caves were formed by the plucking of basalt from the walls of the coulees by the
Missoula floods and are geologically different from most caverns. They were later used as shelters by early
Native Americans.
The trail is accessible from
State Route 17 along Lake Lenore via a road to a parking area.
History
On January 13, 1947, the U.S.
War Assets Administration
The War Assets Administration (WAA) was created to dispose of United States government-owned surplus material and property from World War II. The WAA was established in the Office for Emergency Management, effective March 25, 1946, by Executive Or ...
disposed of drums of
sodium
Sodium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 element, group 1 of the peri ...
into Lake Lenore.
January 13, 1947 newsreel
/ref>
References
External links
{{authority control
Lenore
Lenore
Tourist attractions in Grant County, Washington