Banks Lake

Looking east off the trail to the top of Steamboat Rock. The campground at the state park is visible in the center. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Banks Lake, looking south from off Steamboat Rock. The access road to the state park is partly visible on the left. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Near the beginning of the trail to the top of Steamboat Rock. Note arrow. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Banks Lake, looking north off Washington SR-155. Steamboat Rock is visible in the distance on the right. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Looking north off the trail to the top of Steamboat Rock. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

The canal carrying water to Banks Lake. Looking south, toward the lake. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Geese and goslings on Banks Lake, by Coulee City. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Banks Lake, looking north from Coulee City. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Geese in Banks Lake by Coulee City. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Banks Lake, looking back south toward Coulee City. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Boat ramp off Washington SR-155. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Banks Lake. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Banks Lake, looking back south off Washington SR-155. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Banks Lake, looking south off Washington SR-155. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Steamboat Rock and Banks Lake. The highway is Washington SR-155. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Steamboat Rock, from Washington SR 155 near the state park turnoff. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Picnic area and boat ramp at Steamboat Rock State Park. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Near the beginning of the trail to the top of Steamboat Rock. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Looking east off the trail to the top of Steamboat Rock. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Banks Lake, looking south from off Steamboat Rock. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Banks Lake, looking south from the top of Steamboat Rock. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Looking west over Banks Lake from the top of Steamboat Rock. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Looking north, and down, to Banks Lake from the top of Steamboat Rock. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Banks Lake, looking west from the top of Steamboat Rock. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Banks Lake, looking north and down off Steamboat Rock. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Banks Lake, looking northwesterly from the top of Steamboat Rock. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Doe losing her winter coat at Steamboat Rock State Park. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

White-crowned sparrow at Steamboat Rock State Park. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Banks Lake, looking east from off Steamboat Rock. Washington SR-155 is visible here and there on the opposite shore. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

The canal, looking back north, toward Grand Coulee Dam. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Just west of Coulee City, Washington, highway US-2 crosses a dike holding back a sizable reservoir, Banks Lake, in a wide canyon, the Grand Coulee. (In Washington, “coulee” is a localism for a flat-bottomed canyon with steep sides).

Banks Lake resembles several storage reservoirs in the arid lands of the American West. It even has the usual recreational infrastructure such as marinas, boat-launch ramps, and bait shops. However, it is unusual, indeed unique, in a fundamental way: Grand Coulee is an abandoned Ice Age channel that carries no modern river.

Banks Lake is thus doubly artificial: not only does the dike hold back the water to make a lake, but the water itself was pumped up some 280 feet (85 meters) from the Columbia River using power from Grand Coulee Dam. (Grand Coulee Dam is not in the Grand Coulee. It’s on the Columbia River below the upper end of the coulee).

Why was all this effort expended? Banks Lake is the storage reservoir for the Columbia Basin (Irrigation) Project to the south. It can also be used as a power-storage reservoir. If water is run back through the pumps, the motors driving them to act as generators.

Know Before You Go

As mentioned, US Highway 2 crosses the dike at the south end of the coulee. Washington State Route 155 joins US-2 just east of Coulee City and runs north along the east side of Banks Lake, joining WA SR 174 at the town of Grand Coulee. Amenities (lodging, food, etc.) can be found at Coulee City and in the developments around Grand Coulee (the town).

In addition, about two-thirds of the way toward the town of Grand Coulee you pass Steamboat Rock, a prominent butte within the Grand Coulee that is now a near-island. It's the site of a Washington State park, with a developed campground, a network of hiking trails, and a boat launching ramp. Grand Coulee Dam, although hardly obscure, also makes a worthwhile side-trip while in the area.