|
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 River near the small town of Beverly. Its course exhibits many examples of the erosive powers of extremely large glacial Missoula Floods of the late Pleistocene, which scoured the region. In addition, Crab Creek and its region have been transformed by the large-scale irrigation of the Bureau of Reclamation's Columbia Basin Project (CBP), which has raised water table levels, significantly extending the length of Crab Creek and created new lakes and streams.〔( Crab Subbasin Plan ), Northwest Power and Conservation Council〕 Crab Creek is long〔〔 and drains a watershed in eastern Washington of . It is sometimes referred to as the "longest ephemeral stream in North America".〔 ==Course== Crab Creek is sometimes separated into Upper Crab Creek, which runs from the creek's source to Potholes Reservoir, and Lower Crab Creek, which runs from Potholes Reservoir to the Columbia River.〔〔 Sometimes the stream is divided into three parts—Upper Crab Creek, from its source to Brook Lake, Middle Crab Creek, from Brook Lake to and including Potholes Reservoir; and Lower Crab Creek, from below Potholes Reservoir to the Columbia River.〔 Upper Crab Creek was dry before the CBP and remains intermittent today. From its source near Reardan it flows generally southwest then west, collecting tributaries including Rock Creek, Coal Creek, Duck Creek, Canniwai Creek, and Wilson Creek. It empties into Brook Lake, located just south of Billy Clapp Lake, an equalizing reservoir of the CBP created by Pinto Dam. Crab Creek turns southward after Brook Lake. The CBP's East Low Canal, one of the projects main irrigation canals, crosses but does not mix waters with Crab Creek. At the city of Moses Lake Crab Creek empties into the Parker Horn arm of Moses Lake. Just before reaching the lake Crab Creek receives the waters of Rocky Coulee Wasteway, a mix of the intermittent Rocky Coulee Creek and irrigation runoff from the East Low Canal. Before the CBP there was no perennial flow between Brook Lake and Moses Lake. Only during periods of high water did Crab Creek flow through this area.〔 Moses Lake empties into Potholes Reservoir, which feeds irrigation canals to the south. Below O'Sullivan Dam several springs renew Crab Creek, which flows southwest, then west. Below the community of Smyrna, Crab Creek meanders across a two mile-wide canyon, bounded on the south by Saddle Mountains and on the north by the Royal Slope and containing portions of the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, before emptying into the Columbia River. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Crab Creek」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|