This Mineral-Rich Washington Lake is So Salty, You Can Float Like It’s the Dead Sea

Soap Lake, Washington

Most lakes smell like fish and algae. Soap Lake in Washington smells like sulfur and feels like silk on your skin. This is what makes Soap Lake worth the drive through central Washington’s desert.

Soap Lake

Soap Lake sits in central Washington at the foot of the Grand Coulee. This unusual 2-square-mile lake reaches 70 feet deep and has some of the world’s most mineral-packed water.

How Ice Age Floods Made A Mineral Lake

Huge floods created Soap Lake between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago. These Missoula Floods happened about 40 times when an ice dam kept forming and breaking in northern Idaho.

Each flood let loose up to 9.5 cubic miles of water per second, racing through the Columbia Basin at 80 mph. The rushing water cut a waterfall that slowly moved backward, creating the Lower Grand Coulee.

At the southern end of this canyon, the floodwaters dug out the hole that became Soap Lake.

Two Water Layers That Never Touch

The top layer has 81 feet of mineral water, while the bottom layer has even stronger minerals. Scientists have discovered that these layers haven’t mixed for at least 2,000 years.

This makes Soap Lake one of the longest unmixed lakes on Earth. Only 11 lakes like this exist in the United States.

The World’s Most Mineral-Rich Water

Soap Lake water has 23 different minerals, including sodium, carbonate, sulfate, bicarbonate, chlorine, silica, magnesium, potassium, calcium, aluminum, lithium, fluoride, copper, iron, and phosphorus.

No other body of water on Earth has this many different minerals.

Native Tribes Called It Healing Waters

Native Americans found Soap Lake’s healing powers long before white settlers came. The Moses-Columbia tribe named it “šmokíəm,” meaning “healing waters.” Other tribes called it “Let-to-to-weints” or “healing water springs.”

The lake was so important that enemy tribes would stop fighting to use its benefits. Native peoples built steam huts along the shores, gathered healing roots nearby, and brought sick people and animals to get better.

The lake sits on traditional land of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

Health Spas Turn Lake Into Resort

The first health spa opened at Soap Lake in 1905 to treat long-term sickness. By 1907, several health centers worked around the lake with doctors, nurses, massage workers, and water treatment helpers.

Early patients got relief from joint pain, skin problems, and stomach troubles. By the 1920s, Washington travel guides called Soap Lake the “world’s greatest mineral sea.”

The lake became most popular in the 1920s and 1930s when visitors came by train from across the country looking for healing.

World War I Veterans Find Relief

Earl McKay, a U.S. Army soldier, got Buerger’s Disease during World War I, a painful condition cuts off blood flow and can kill body tissue. Doctors thought he would live only three months when he came to Soap Lake.

McKay found the lake couldn’t cure his disease but could stop it from getting worse with regular treatments. He lived 17 years longer than doctors expected and told others about the lake’s healing powers.

In 1933, the Veterans Administration sent nine veterans to Soap Lake for treatment.

A Hospital Built Just For Research

McKay and fellow veteran Bill Williamson convinced the Federal Veterans Administration to study Soap Lake officially. In 1937, Washington state bought land for a special hospital to study the mineral waters.

McKay Memorial Research Hospital opened November 11, 1938, with 500 people watching, including Washington’s governor. Veterans with Buerger’s Disease who lived in Washington got free treatment.

Dr. T.J. Fatherree wrote about his research in The American Heart Journal in 1941, showing how the mineral waters healed open sores caused by Buerger’s Disease.

Scientists Study The Lake’s Secrets

In 2002, the National Science Foundation gave Central Washington University money to study Soap Lake. The foundation named it a rare Microbial Observatory for five years.

Scientists studied the lake’s extreme chemistry, similar to conditions that might exist on Mars. This research helps find possible places for life beyond Earth.

A 2000 water test tracked mineral changes over time. In 2014, scientists found 1952 water samples that showed changes over six decades. The Soap Lake Conservancy now works to save this natural wonder.

Visiting Soap Lake, Washington

Soap Lake sits about 100 miles west of Spokane and 30 miles north of Moses Lake. You can reach it via Highway 17, known as the Coulee Corridor National Scenic Byway.

Places to stay include the Soap Lake Natural Spa & Resort, which pumps mineral water directly into private soaking tubs. The Smokiam RV Resort offers camping options along the shoreline.

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