Lake Pend Oreille

These are pictures of Lake Pend Oreille, Sandpoint, Idaho. The first one is from a state beach, looking northwest, next to downtown Sandpoint, and located at the north end of a long bridge that crosses the lake. The second picture is looking west from the south end of the bridge. This bridge is a main route for truckers and goes right through the town. A bypass has been considered since 1945 and work was finally started this year.

Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced pon-da-ray) is French for ear-hanging or pendant. The Kalispell Indians called this area home and were know for their ear pendants.

The lake is 65 miles long, and 1,150 feet deep in some areas; it is the 5th deepest lake in the U.S. The southern end, where the lake is the deepest, was formerly the home of the Farragut Navel Training Station during WWII. It is still used by the Navy's Acoustic Research Detachment to test large-scale submarine proto-types. The depth gives acoustic properties similar to open ocean.

The last picture is of a slough that is near my parents home.

Go here for more on Lake Pend Oreille.