But, when Grand Coulee Dam was built, the irrigation canals brought new life into the area.

Soap Lake has been internationally known during the past century for its uniquely mineral-rich (23) waters and mud.

When the sanitariums, hotels, and bath houses were full, people slept in tents, and even under their cars, in order to use the water of the lake.

For a number of years, McKay was used as a research center for the study of the therapeutic effect of the water of the lake and the climate.

Soap Lake is located in the center of the state of Washington, 20 miles north of Interstate 90 between Seattle and Spokane, sitting in a desert environment with nine inches or less of rainfall per year and 320 days of sun.

The first layer of Soap Lake is made up of about 81 feet of mineral water; the second level is mud-like and consists of a stronger mineral composition with concentrations of unusual substances and microscopic life forms.

The scientific community refers to lakes with this rare condition as meromictic.

The mineral content of Soap Lake water has been analyzed many times since the mid-1900s.

At this time the lake was becoming increasingly diluted, due to the seepage of these same life-giving irrigation canals.

The City Council petitioned the Department of the Interior to remedy this situation.

The Bureau of Reclamation built several wells and pumps to intercept the seepage water, and the end of the 1950s diminished the dilution.

Two older brick buildings along the main street northbound have been renovated to house an art museum and a coffee shop.

Another tourism effort is to install a novel roadside attraction: a 52,000 pound (60 feet in height) lava lamp, formerly a Target advertisement in Times Square.

[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.25 square miles (3.24 km2), all of it land.