Rock Lake is the deepest and largest of all scabland lakes left behind from the Missoula Floods, and holds that distinction for all of eastern Washington. At its deepest, it is more than deep, although the official measurement is uncertain. The lake is over long and averages in width, and is accessible via a solitary landing area located on the south end. The rest of the shoreline is inaccessible to vehicles, other than a few private properties. Located approximately south of Cheney, Rock Lake is in a moderately remote location. Other towns in the area include Sprague, St. John, and Rosalia, although all are a number of miles away. Rock Lake receives the majority of its water from Rock Creek, which further downstream is a tributary of the

Palouse River The Palouse River is a tributary of the Snake River in Washington and Idaho, in the northwest United States. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 3, 2011 south ...

, as well as Negro Creek. The lake is approximately long and wide, having a wildly varying depth with steep dropoffs plunging over 300 feet down. About half a mile from the boat launch, the lake's characteristic geography can be seen: high basalt cliff walls on either side with rock pillars and spires protruding from the bottom. The steep basalt cliffs and stone pinnacles which can rupture a hull and a lack of shoreline, coupled with the

wind tunnel A wind tunnel is "an apparatus for producing a controlled stream of air for conducting aerodynamic experiments". The experiment is conducted in the test section of the wind tunnel and a complete tunnel configuration includes air ducting to and f ...

effect from the region's notable Palouse winds, have led to many deaths on the lake. In addition to the perils in the lake, its banks are also habitat for rattlesnakes in the spring and summer months.

Recreation

The primary recreation activity on Rock Lake is fishing. Popular sport fishing species in the lake include:

Crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxi ...

Brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

Bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or, in Texas, "copper nose", is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands ea ...

, and

Rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

. Running along the eastern shore of the lake is the John Wayne Pioneer Trail, which is a converted

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

. This section of trail is now open, completing open access from

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

to North Bend, Washington with the addition of the rail bridge over the Columbia River near

Vantage, Washington Vantage is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 74 at the 2010 census. History The area around Vantage has been occupied by the Wanapum Native Americans since prehistory. A number o ...

Dam considerations

A dam was first considered at the mouth of Rock Lake in the lake 1930s, and base columns were installed. The idea of a dam was abandoned at that point, because of the difficulty the topography would present. Recently, interest in building a dam at this site has been renewed. Representatives of the Palouse-Rock Lake Conservation District are interested in having a dam built for the primary purpose of stabilizing water supply to right-holders below the dam by creating a consistent flow throughout the year. The current plans for a dam would impound 110,000-120,000 acre feet of water.

Reference list

{{authority control Lakes of Washington (state) Bodies of water of Whitman County, Washington