Locals say: “pond-array.” It’s French. In English it means “hangs ear” … or “ear hanging.” Like an earring.

The shape of the lake is much like an ear … similar to a big question mark. You can buy stickers to put on your car. Really!

Apart from this curious fact, the lake is stunningly beautiful and unpopulated. Surrounded by Douglas fir, red cedar, Ponderosa pine, aspen, birch, larch and more. Deer, bear, coyotes, goats, wolves and eagles live here. And … they visit you day and night! Stop awhile. It’s not crowded.

The lake is deep … the 4th deepest lake in the Pacific NW. There’s a naval base here! They do “sonar testing with large-scale submarine prototypes on the Pend Oreille Calibration Station. The significant depth gives acoustic properties similar to the open ocean. Background noise is less than at ocean testing locations, and the sound signatures being investigated cannot be monitored by foreign governments in international waters.”

There are small, picturesque towns dotted here and there, each with their own special flavor. This is the West … mountains melting into lakes that leak into rivers that revive your weary soul. Come see!