Banks Lake

About Banks Lake

Banks Lake is a large water resources project that aims to provide irrigated water to fertile but dry land in central Washington. It was formed when two opposing rocks were poured into large channels during the Ice Age.

Banks Lake water is pumped from the Columbia River to Lake Washington, the largest freshwater lake in the United States, and from there to Puget Sound. It is named after the Banks River, one of the most important rivers in Washington state.

The minimum water surface is 1,560 feet, although the water has been drained from Banks Lake several times. The water is kept in the lake until it is needed for irrigation and pumped out of the water during the growing season. Banks Lake's reserves store about 1.5 million cubic feet of water per day, or about 2 million gallons per second. Active storage can be replaced at any time as required, but can also be pumped out of the lake during the growing season.

For fishing enthusiasts, Banks Lake offers a variety of species of bullhead fish, such as bluefish, redfish and whitefish. The lake houses a 320-foot jetty, which is reserved for boat handling only, but is a popular destination for kayaking, canoeing, fishing, boating and other recreational activities. Banks Lake is one of the largest lakes in the USA with a maximum depth of 1,560 feet.

In addition to the typical water sports, the park also offers hiking, climbing, mountain biking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding. In winter, skiing is allowed on many of the trails in the parks, as well as snowmobiling on the lake and a variety of other trails.

The area around Banks Lake is uninhabited and much of the land is used for agriculture, but at the northern end of the lake there are a number of small farms and a few small shops as well as a small fishing village.

Originally created for irrigation, Banks Lake has since developed into an oasis for recreation and recreation seekers in the desert. At the southern end of the banks Lake is located in Coulee City, which had over 600 inhabitants at the 2000 census and is the southernmost city on the US West Coast of Washington.