Lake Lenore Caves sign

The sign at the bottom of the trail to the Lake Lenore Caves, it reads,

Lake Lenore Caves

At least 5,000 years ago native people began using these caves as temporary shelters and places to work.

The Lake Lenore Caves were formed during the last Ice Age, when catastrophic floods raged across much of Eastern Washington. These floods carved long, deep ravines, or coulees, from solid basalt. The effect of water freezing and thawing within the basalt enlarged the caves over thousands of years.

During the spring and summer, Indians visited this area to collect plants, dig roots, fish, and hunt. After preparing the food and plant material, they carried their loads back to permanent villages. They often left behind mats, grinding stones, as well as food and supplies for their next visit. Their permanent villages probably were located along the Columbia River or one of its tributaries.

Today, people from the Colville Confederated Tribes continue to treat many areas of the Grand Coulee as sacred. Here they collect plants important in their religious ceremonies.

All artifacts from this site have been carefully removed by archaeologists for study and safe storage.