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The Moses Lake Region is located in Central Washington. The area is originally home to many Indian tribes, and German settlers were first to make the area their home. The area is known for its historical landmarks, scenic waterways, and desert landscapes. Moses Lake was named after the leader of a local Indian tribe.[1] The region includes a national forest, multiple large lakes, and one of the United States' most prominent dams.[3] One of the United States' airbases is also located within the region. The area produces a variety of food with red raspberries as a leading industry in the area.[4] The weather throughout the region is consistent with a warm-weather season lasting three months and winters lasting about the same. There is more snowfall than rain throughout the year.[5]
The city Moses Lake is located in the southern area of the Moses Lake Region. The city is known as the agricultural and transportation hub for Central Washington. Visitors can visit the Moses Lake Museum and Art Center to explore local history and observe local artist's drawings. Originally home to a prominent Indian tribe in the area, there are many Indian ruins, and ancient artifacts visitors can explore in the area. There is a mixture of rural and urban areas surrounding the city. The actual Moses Lake, however, is the most dominant attraction to the area.
The lake is the largest natural body of fresh water in Grant County, with over one hundred and twenty miles of shoreline. The lake is made up of three primary arms extending over eighteen miles. There are multiple marinas, sandy beaches, and boat ports along the lake's shoreline. The lake is known for its distinct fishing possibilities. Those who wish to fish in the lake should visit during the spring into June.[1] At that time fishermen can catch largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, channel catfish, black crappie, walleye, rainbow trout, bluegill, and yellow perch.[6] Officials do not advise swimming in Moses Lake, however, due to toxic blue-green algae.[1]
The Grand Coulee Dam is located in the top corner of the Moses Lake Region. The dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River. It was built to produce hydroelectric power and to regulate irrigation water. The dam towers five hundred and fifty feet. The Grand Coulee Dam is the largest in the Columbia River Basin and one of the largest dams in the world. Visitors are welcome to visit the dam and take tours of its internal operations during the low water season.[3] The entire west side of the Moses Lake Region is covered in the Okanagan-Wenatchee National Forest. The forest covers almost four million acres of land. The forest is popular for various activities, including fishing, hunting, horseback riding, mountain biking, climbing, and ATV-ing.
The winter season also brings in many visitors for cross-country and downhill skiing, and snowmobiling. There are hundreds of roads, trails, and marked walking paths with lookout points and rest stops. Some areas have old Indian ruins and monuments for visitors to observe as well.[3] Banks Lake is a twenty-seven-mile-long reservoir just off of the Coulee Dam in between there and Coulee City. The lake was formed by the Missoula Floods and is around fifty feet deep on average. The lake is known to reflect the desert skies, and features three hundred feet of docks, and has seven watercraft launches. Fishing, swimming, and watersports are common in the lake.[9]
Mansfield, Washington, is located in the center of the Moses Lake Region. When guests visit the nearby lakes and national forests, they can explore natural springs, walk along the Wells Dam Overlook, and play games at the Beebe Bridge Park.[2] The area welcomes around six hundred thousand visitors every year. Summers are most common for families and groups to visit the area from neighboring cities and states.[10]
The state of Washington supports six geographic land areas. The Moses Lake Region is in the Southern Cascades. Known as the Evergreen State, Washington is abundant with plant and animal life. The Moses Lake Region has rolling hills, rich volcanic soil, valleys, mountains, and prairie fields. The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest covers most of the western area of the region. Moses Lake is to the south, with the city of Mansfield and the Coulee Dam to the north.[8]
Summers in the Moses Lake Region are hot, arid, and mostly sunny skied. In contrast, winters are very cold and dry. It is also partly cloudy most days during the winter months. The warm season in Moses Lake Region lasts for three months, from June to September. The average daily temperature during these months is around eighty-one degrees, and it can reach the mid-nineties. The winter season lasts for three months, from November to February. The average daily temperature during these months ranges between thirty and fifty degrees. The area receives around nine inches of rain on average every year. There is more snowfall than rain, with about twenty-one inches of snow annually.[5]
Moses Lake itself is filled with fish and other water life. Fisherman can be seen catching largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, channel catfish, black crappie, walleye, rainbow trout, bluegill, and yellow perch.[6] Washington has an uncommon landscape with mountains, prairie grass, fields and gets a lot of moisture. Because of this, the area is filled with plants and wildlife.[8] Some commonly seen animals include bats, beavers, black bears, bobcats, cougars, coyotes, and elk. Plantlife flourishes in Washington's weather; visitors can see Douglas-fir, pacific bleeding heart, red huckleberry, and a variety of grasses, sagebrush, and shrubbery.[7] The state of Washington produces a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Red raspberries are the most prominent produce in the area and serve over ninety percent of all of the United States' production. The area also produces potatoes, grapes, cherries, and apples.
Native Americans who lived in the area for centuries before the first settlers came, called the land Houaph, meaning willow. Chief Moses led the Sinkiuse tribe all of the mid to late 1800s. When White settlers came to settle the area in the 1880's Chief Moses was forced to negotiate with them and ended up trading the Columbia Basin.[1] The setters named the lake and river in honor of Chief Moses. Soon after, the Grand Coulee Dam and the Columbia River were built in 1941, and the Moses Lake Army Air Base became operational in 1942.[3]
The city of Lake Moses was originally named Neppel after a town in Germany. Many of the original settlers in the Moses Lake Region were from Germany. Over the course of a few years, the area was transformed into an agricultural and recreational hub for tourists. The Moses Lake Army Air Base was built to train World War II Pilots to fly planes essential to the war effort. After the war ended, the base closed but reopened in 1948 as a United States Air Force Base. R.E.[1]
Darling named the city of Mansfield after his hometown Mansfield, Ohio. The land was purchased by the Great Northern Railway in 1909 and was developed shortly after. Most of the Moses Lake Region was occupied by Native Americans or farmers for years with minimal towns and settlements. The Great Depression hit the economy of the region hard, and many farms and settlements were abandoned. Years later, the land was re-established, and many more towns were built, and farms restarted.[2]
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