Crab Creek
| Crab Creek | |
 Lower Crab Creek above confluence with Red Rock Coulee.
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Washington |
| County | Grant County, Adams County, Lincoln County |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Rocky Ford Creek |
| - right | Coal Creek, Canniwai Creek, Wilson Creek, Red Rock Coulee |
| City | Moses Lake |
| Source | Near Gettys Butte |
| - elevation | 2,730 ft (832 m) |
| - coordinates | 47°42′42″N 117°54′24″W / 47.71167°N 117.90667°W |
| Mouth | Columbia River |
| - elevation | 489 ft (149 m) |
| - coordinates | 46°48′55″N 119°55′19″W / 46.81528°N 119.92194°WCoordinates: 46°48′55″N 119°55′19″W / 46.81528°N 119.92194°W |
| Length | 163 mi (262 km) |
| Basin | 5,097 sq mi (13,201 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| - average | 201 cu ft/s (6 m3/s) |
| - max | 936 cu ft/s (27 m3/s) |
| - min | 10 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
  Mouth of Crab Creek in Washington
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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 5 km (3.1 mi) 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 , 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 Creek is 163 miles (262 km) long and drains a watershed in eastern Washington of 5,097 square miles (13,200 km2). It is sometimes referred to as the "longest ephemeral stream in North America".
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.
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Wikipedia