Moses Lake is a lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 and reservoir

Reservoir

A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

 along the course of Crab Creek

Crab Creek

Crab Creek is a stream in the U.S. state of Washington. Named for the presence of crayfish, it is one of the few perennial streams in the Columbia Basin of central Washington, flowing from the northeastern Columbia River Plateau, roughly east of Reardan, west-southwest to empty into the Columbia...

, in Washington state, USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Moses Lake is part of the Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

 basin, as Crab Creek is a tributary of the Columbia River.

Although originally a shallow natural lake, Moses Lake was dammed in the early 20th century for irrigation purposes. It then became part of the Columbia Basin Project

Columbia Basin Project

The Columbia Basin Project in Central Washington, USA, is the irrigation network that the Grand Coulee Dam makes possible. It is the largest water reclamation project in the United States, supplying irrigation water to over of the large project area, all of which was originally intended to be...

, built and managed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation

United States Bureau of Reclamation

The United States Bureau of Reclamation , and formerly the United States Reclamation Service , is an agency under the U.S...

. Moses Lake receives water from Crab Creek, as well as from irrigated agricultural runoff. Its water used to flow out into Crab Creek, but now flows into Potholes Reservoir

PotHoles Reservoir

The Potholes Reservoir is part of the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project. It is formed by the O'Sullivan Dam and located in central Washington, in the United States. The reservoir is fed by water from Moses Lake, part of the Crab Creek basin....

, a storage reservoir created by the impounding Crab Creek at O'Sullivan Dam

O'Sullivan Dam

O'Sullivan Dam, one of the larger earthfill dams in the United States , is on Crab Creek in the U.S. state of Washington, about 45 km south of Ephrata and 25 km south of Moses Lake...

.

Moses Lake is fairly complex in shape, with several arms, called "horns". These horns include Lewis Horn, Parker Horn, and Pelican Horn. There are several islands in Moses Lake, including Crest Island, Marsh Island, Gaileys Island, and Goat Island.

Moses Lake was named after Chief Moses

Chief Moses

Chief Moses was a Native American chief of the Sinkiuse-Columbia, in what is now Washington State. The territory of his tribe extended approximately from Waterville to White Bluffs, in the Columbia Basin. They were often in the area around Moses Lake...

 in the late 19th century. The city of Moses Lake

Moses Lake, Washington

Moses Lake is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 20,366 as of the 2010 census. Moses Lake is the largest city in Grant County.-Background:...

was, in turn, named after the lake.

Moses Lake was first named Neppel, and not Moses Lake until in the late 20th century.