Moses Lake is a city 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. The population was 25,146 at the 2020 census. Moses Lake is the most populous city in Grant County. The city anchors the Moses Lake Micropolitan area, which includes all of Grant County and is part of the Moses Lake–Othello combined statistical area. Moses Lake, on which the city lies, is made up of three main arms over long and up to one mile (1.6 km) wide. It is the largest natural body of fresh water in Grant County and has over of shoreline covering . Before it was dammed in the early 1900s and then incorporated into the

Columbia Basin Project The Columbia Basin Project (or CBP) in Central Washington (state), Washington, United States, is the irrigation network that the Grand Coulee Dam makes possible. It is the largest water reclamation project in the United States, supplying irrigat ...

, Moses Lake was a smaller shallow lake. To the south of the town is the Potholes Reservoir and the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge that has a number of

seep A seep or flush is a moist or wet place where water, usually groundwater, reaches the Earth's surface from an underground aquifer. Description Seeps are usually not of sufficient volume to be flowing beyond their immediate above-ground location. ...

lakes and vast amounts of migratory birds and other fauna natural to the area.

History

Before the construction of

Grand Coulee Dam Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had two powerhous ...

on the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

in 1941 and Moses Lake Army Air Base in 1942 the area was largely barren. Native Americans knew the area as Houaph, which meant willow. Chief Moses was leader of the Sinkiuse tribe from 1859 to 1899, and was forced to negotiate with white settlers who began to settle in the area in the 1880s. Under pressure from the government, Chief Moses traded the Columbia Basin land for a reservation that stretched from Lake Chelan north to the Canada–US border. The government later traded again for what is now the

Colville Indian Reservation The Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation located in Washington (state), Washington state, U.S. It is inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which are List of federally recognized tribes in ...

. The new settlers named the lake in honor of Chief Moses. The city was originally named Neppel, after a town in Germany where one of the original settlers had lived. The first settlers established fisheries and farms — some of the first exported items were carp, jackrabbits and fruit — but irrigation attempts failed and settlers left at about the same rate as they came. When the town was incorporated and renamed Moses Lake in 1938, the population was estimated at 302 people. The arrival of the air base in 1942 and irrigation water pumped from

in 1955 offered newcomers a reason and a way to settle in an area that previously had little to offer other than good fishing and a place to water sheep and cattle. Moses Lake was quickly transformed into a hub for a vast region where transportation, agriculture and recreation came together. The air base was built to train

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

pilots to fly the

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

and

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

, two planes that were essential to the war effort. The base was closed after the war ended, but reopened in 1948 as a U.S. Air Force base and test area for Boeing's

B-47 Stratojet The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long- range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft ...

and B-50 Superfortress. The B-47 tests led to development of modern commercial jetliners still used today. Fighter jets were stationed there to protect

to the north and the

Hanford site The Hanford Site is a decommissioned nuclear production complex operated by the United States federal government on the Columbia River in Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington. It has also been known as SiteW and the Hanford Nuclear R ...

to the south.

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

still uses the airport as a test and evaluation facility for its aircraft.

Japan Airlines Japan Airlines (JAL) is the flag carrier airline of Japan. JAL is headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport, Narita and Haneda Airport, Haneda airports, as well as secondary hubs in Osaka's Kansai ...

used the airport as a training area from November 1968 until March 2009. The old air base is now owned by the Port of Moses Lake and is home to Grant County International Airport, Big Bend Community College and several businesses. Farmers, meanwhile, had developed new methods to irrigate water from the lake and from the

and began planting expansive irrigated acreage. When the

began to deliver water to the area in the mid-1950s, farms expanded by thousands of acres, growing potatoes, corn, onions, carrots and sugar beets. In little more than a decade, Moses Lake's population grew from 300 to 2,679 in 1950. Today, the population is 25,146 (2020 census).

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Landscape

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 25,146 people, 9,564 households, and 5,982 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 10,257 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 62.74%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.40%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.38% Native American, 2.74% Asian, 0.21%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 17.59% from some other races and 13.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 36.32% of the population. 28.7% of residents were under the age of 18, 7.0% were under 5 years of age, and 11.9% were 65 and older.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 20,366 people, 7,600 households, and 4,995 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 8,365 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 76.35%

, 1.64%

, 1.05% Native American, 1.46% Asian, 0.14%

, 14.95% from some other races and 4.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 30.06% of the population. There were 7,600 households, of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.3% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.25. The median age in the city was 32.1 years. 29.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27% were from 25 to 44; 21.4% were from 45 to 64; and 12.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 14,953 people, 5,642 households, and 3,740 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 6,263 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 77.16%

, 1.69%

, 1.02% Native American, 1.43% Asian, 0.07%

, 15.44% from some other races and 3.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 25.41% of the population. There were 5,642 households, out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were

living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.20. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.8% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $36,467, and the median income for a family was $42,096. Males had a median income of $34,945 versus $25,193 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $16,644. About 11.0% of families and 15.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 18.7% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Climate

Moses Lake has a dry climate, and is classed as a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

. It is warm during summer, when temperatures tend to be in the 80s (°F) and somewhat cold during winter, when temperatures tend to be in the 30s (°F). The warmest month is July, with an average maximum temperature of . The coldest month is January, with an average minimum temperature of . Temperature variations between night and day are greater during summer (), and less during winter (). The annual average precipitation at Moses Lake is 7.69 inches (195 mm). Although rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, it is not unusual in mid-summer for a month or six weeks to pass without any measurable rainfall. The wettest month is December with an average rainfall of 1.19 inches (30 mm).

Economy

Moses Lake's historic economic base has been agriculture, but now includes considerable manufacturing and technology. Several companies have moved to the area, including REC Silicon (one of the world's largest manufacturers of polysilicon, used in solar panels). Moses Lake has also attracted some alternative fuel companies, such as Washington Ethanol & Washington Biodiesel.

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

, in partnership with the SGL Group, began construction in July 2010 on a $100 million carbon-fiber manufacturing plant. The plant was designed to produce 300 tons of carbon fiber per year from a single production building, and began operations in 2011. In 2013, ground was broken for a second 300-ton building, bringing projected production to 600 tons per year. In 2014, a third 300-ton building was started. When the third building is completed, SGL Moses Lake will be the largest producer of carbon fiber in the world. Mitsubishi in 2016 announced that the company would use the port of Moses Lake for its new regional jet (MRJ) FAA flight testing. The testing will be completed by the end of 2018. Several manufacturers of electric vehicle batteries have factories or research facilities in Moses Lake due to its proximity to hydroelectricity and

silane Silane (Silicane) is an inorganic compound with chemical formula . It is a colorless, pyrophoric gas with a sharp, repulsive, pungent smell, somewhat similar to that of acetic acid. Silane is of practical interest as a precursor to elemental ...

processors for

silicon Silicon is a chemical element; it has symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre, and is a tetravalent metalloid (sometimes considered a non-metal) and semiconductor. It is a membe ...

. The

U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear we ...

awarded grants to fund the construction of plants for Group14 and Sila Nanotechnologies that are expected to open in 2024. Sila plans to expand from an initial workforce of 100 employees to 500 within a few years of operation at the factory, which will generate 20 gigawatts of battery capacity by 2026. Other major corporations that have facilities in (or are based in) Moses Lake include: *

Dell Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...

*Sabey *

Terex Terex Corporation is an American company and worldwide manufacturer of materials processing machinery, waste and recycling equipment, mobile elevating work platforms, and equipment for the electric utility industry. Terex does business in the ...

/AWP (Genie Industries) * Guardian Industries *

ConAgra Foods Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, ...

* Basic American Foods *Moses Lake Industries * J.R. Simplot Co. *

International Paper The International Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 39,000 employees, and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. History The company was incorporated January 31 ...

* Twelve

Media

*'' Columbia Basin Herald'', the local daily newspaper * Source One News (formerly iFiber One News), a local internet services provider

Transportation

Road

Moses Lake is bisected by two major highways that bypass the city center:

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

and State Route 17. State Route 171 and Interstate 90 Business serve the city's downtown, connecting to the two highways.

Rail

The Columbia Basin Railroad is headquartered in Moses Lake and operates the city's railroad. It is the busiest shortline railroad in

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...

. During the 1990s, a

high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...

line between

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and Moses Lake was proposed, primarily to use Grant County International Airport as a satellite airport for the

Seattle metropolitan area The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding Satellite city, satellites and suburbs. The United States Census Bureau defines the Seattle–T ...

Public transportation

Moses Lake and Grant County are served by the Grant Transit Authority, which runs several bus routes within the city and

intercity bus service An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public t ...

to nearby Ephrata and other towns.

Airport

Larson Air Force Base, five miles from the city of Moses Lake, originally was named Moses Lake Army Air Base. It was activated on 24 November 1942 as a

training center. Major Donald A. Larson, for whom the base was later renamed, was from Yakima, Washington. The Secretary of Defense announced on November 19, 1965, that Larson was to be closed by June of the following year. Larson Air Force Base, since renamed Grant County International Airport, is now a world-class heavy jet training and testing facility used by the Boeing Company, the U.S. military and NASA. The airport had hosted Japan's national carrier,

, from 1968 to 2008 for the training of its pilots, co-pilots, and flight engineers due to lack of runway space at airports in Japan to do touch and goes with jumbo jets. Columbia Pacific Aviation now handles charter passenger service to and from Moses Lake. With and a main runway long, it is one of the largest airports in the United States. Moses Lake is also served by the much smaller municipal airport, which has one runway.

Education

Schools

Elementary schools

* Garden Heights Elementary * Groff Elementary * Knolls Vista Elementary * Lakeview Terrace Elementary * Larson Heights Elementary * Longview Elementary * Midway Elementary * North Elementary * Peninsula Elementary * Park Orchard Elementary * Sage Point Elementary * Groff Elementery

Middle schools

*Frontier Middle School *Columbia Middle School (formerly Chief Moses Middle School) *Endeavor Middle School (formerly Columbia Basin Secondary School)

Private schools

*AIM School and Gymnastics (Kindergarten and 1st Grade) *Glenn J. Kimber Academy *Moses Lake Christian Academy *Crest View Christian School *Covenant Christian School

High schools

* Moses Lake High School * Vanguard Academy * Digital Learning Center * Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center (CBTech)

Learning centers

*Family Services of Grant County / Head Start *Skillsource *Columbia Basin Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center The Japanese Supplementary School of Moses Lake (モーゼスレイク補習授業校 ''Mōzesu Reiku Hoshū Jugyō Kō''), a weekend Japanese educational program, previously operated in Moses Lake.北米の補習授業校一覧

.

MEXT The , also known as MEXT, is one of the eleven ministries of Japan that compose part of the executive branch of the government of Japan. History The Meiji period, Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871. In January 2001 ...

. January 2, 2003. Retrieved on April 6, 2015.

Colleges

* Big Bend Community College

1996 Frontier Middle School shooting

On February 2, 1996, Frontier Middle School experienced a

school shooting A school shooting is an Gun violence, armed attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of a firearm. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shooti ...

. The gunman, 14-year-old Barry Dale Loukaitis, killed his algebra teacher and two students, and held his classmates hostage before a gym coach subdued him.

Activities

* Spring Festival (Memorial Day weekend) * Moses Lake Water Sports Festival (June) (first held in June 2008) * Lion's Field, located Downtown near Frontier Middle School, was remodeled after a voter-approved levy. FieldTurf was installed and the first game held on the new turf was a soccer game between the Moses Lake Chiefs and the Wenatchee Panthers. The Football team opened the completed stadium on September 12, 2008. * Brews and Tunes (First held in February 2018) * Moses Lake Sand Dunes are open year-round to 4x4 and ORV enthusiasts. The Sand Dunes bring people from all over the world to play in the sand.

Sister cities

Moses Lake has one

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

: Yonezawa, Japan. On August 7, 1978, the mayor of Moses Lake, Bob Hill, wrote a letter to Mayor Toshihide Cho of Yonezawa City, inviting Yonezawa to become a "Sister City" to Moses Lake. The 1981 group to visit Yonezawa City in May became the "Official Delegation" since it was during this visit that the "Sister City Agreement" between Yonezawa City and Moses Lake was signed by Mayor Bob Hill and Mayor Toshihide Cho on May 1, 1981. As part of the program, a small group of high school students from both cities are invited to take part in a cultural exchange. Since its inception, over 200 students and their family members from these two communities have taken part in this exchange. The two cities continue to exchange students every summer since 1981 and marked the 40th anniversary of this program on May 1, 2021. There is a street named after Yonezawa in Moses Lake and a street named after Moses Lake in Yonezawa. The large hawk statue located on the west end of Yonezawa Boulevard is called an Otaka Poppo. These wood carvings, known as sasano bori, are special wood carvings unique to Yonezawa. These wooden dolls have been given as gifts to Moses Lake residents can be found on display around the city and on the campus of Big Bend Community College. Japanese lanterns, some which are gifts from citizens of Yonezawa, can be found around Moses Lake on Yonezawa Boulevard and inside the Japanese Garden.

Notable people

* T. R. Bryden, MLB pitcher *

Jason Buck Jason Ogden Buck (born July 27, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL). Football career Buck was born in Moses Lake, Washington and played high school footb ...

, NFL defensive lineman *

Matt Cedeño Matt Cedeño (born November 14, 1973)"POP CULTURE". ''Soap Opera Digest''. August 5, 2013. p. 65. is an American actor and former fashion model, known for his roles as Brandon Walker on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' (1999– ...

, actor * Ryan Doumit, MLB catcher *

Sid Eudy Sidney Raymond Eudy (December 16, 1960 – August 26, 2024) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, best known for his tenures in the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), wrestling ...

, Professional wrestler * Pierson Fodé, actor * Clarence Gilyard, actor who performed on '' Matlock'' and ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action fiction, action Crime drama, crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both the film and the series starring Chuck Norr ...

'' * Dave Heaverlo, MLB pitcher * Rachell "Rae" Hofstetter, American Internet personality * Joe Hooper, Medal of Honor recipient in Vietnam * Reid Stowe, sailor and adventurer * Martha Thomsen – Model – Born in Moses Lake * Kirk A. Triplett, PGA golfer * Joseph J. Tyson, Roman Catholic bishop of

Yakima Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...

diocese *

Bryan Warrick Bryan Anthony Warrick (born July 22, 1959) is an American retired professional basketball player. He was a point guard and played collegiately at Saint Joseph's University where he was named to the East Coast Conference and Philadelphia Big 5 ...

, NBA player * Blaine Harden, author and journalist

References

External links

City of Moses LakeColumbia Basin Herald newspaper
* {{Authority control Cities in Washington (state) Cities in Grant County, Washington Superfund sites in Washington (state) Micropolitan areas of Washington (state)