Lake Lenore, also known as Lenore Lake, is a lake 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 1909 an ...

, United States. It is a 1,670-acre (680 ha) lake formed by the

Missoula Floods The Missoula floods (also known as the Spokane floods or the Bretz floods or Bretz's floods) were cataclysmic glacial lake outburst floods that swept periodically across eastern Washington and down the Columbia River Gorge at the end of the last ...

in the lower

Coulee Coulee, or coulée ( or ) is a term applied rather loosely to different landforms, all of which refer to a kind of valley or drainage zone. The word ''coulee'' comes from the Canadian French ''coulée'', from French ''couler'' 'to flow'. The ...

just north of the town of

Soap Lake, Washington Soap Lake is a city in Grant County, Washington, on the shores of Soap Lake. The population was 1,691 at the 2020 census. History Soap Lake was officially incorporated on June 9, 1919. This came to a halt during the Depression when drought hi ...

. It is situated between Alkali Lake to the north and

Soap Lake Soap Lake is a meromictic soda lake in the town of Soap Lake, Washington formed by the Missoula Floods at the foot of the Grand Coulee. The lake gets its name from the naturally occurring foam that gives its water a soapy appearance, and becaus ...

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

Coulee City Coulee City is a town in Grant County, Washington. The population was 549 at the 2020 census. History The town was named after nearby Grand Coulee. Coulee City was officially incorporated on May 10, 1907. Geography Coulee City is located at ...

. Lenore Canyon is a

coulee Coulee, or coulée ( or ) is a term applied rather loosely to different landforms, all of which refer to a kind of valley or drainage zone. The word ''coulee'' comes from the Canadian French ''coulée'', from French ''couler'' 'to flow'. The ...

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 w ...

. 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 The Missoula floods (also known as the Spokane floods or the Bretz floods or Bretz's floods) were cataclysmic glacial lake outburst floods that swept periodically across eastern Washington and down the Columbia River Gorge at the end of the last ...

and are geologically different from most caverns. They were later used as shelters by prehistoric humans. 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 Ord ...

disposed of drums of

sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable iso ...

into Lake Lenore.January 13, 1947 newsreel
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References

External links

{{authority control Lenore Lenore Tourist attractions in Grant County, Washington