courtesy of Jerry Luther

Nestled in the northern tip of Idaho, surrounded by three mountain ranges and just 60 miles from the Canadian border, lies magnificent Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced Pon-da-ray).

The primary source for Lake Pend Oreille is the Clark Fork River, which collects the water of all the rivers in northern Montana west of the continental divide. Sand Creek, Pack River and many other streams flow into Lake Pend Oreille too.

The Pend Oreille River flows out of the lake to the west, then turns north and empties into the Columbia in Canada. At the southern end, Lake Pend Oreille drains into the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, a sole source aquifer for the drinking water and needs of the Spokane/Coeur d’ Alene metropolitan area and it’s approximately 600,000 inhabitants.

It’s the fourth deepest lake in the United States at 1,158 feet deep. Lake Pend Oreille combined with the Pend Oreille River downstream to Albeni Falls Dam contains approximately 122,000 surface acres of water.

Legend has it the name Pend Oreille, meaning ear pendant in French, was bestowed by early French trappers because of the extravagant ear decorations favored by the native Kalispel Indians.