| Rock Creek | |
| Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Washington |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of Rock Creek in Washington |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Washington |
| Subdivision Type4: | County |
| Subdivision Name4: | Spokane, Adams, Whitman |
| Length: | 52miles[1] |
| Source1: | Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge |
| Source1 Location: | Pine Lakes, Spokane County |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 47.3986°N -117.5447°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 2226feet[2] |
| Mouth: | Palouse River |
| Mouth Location: | near Winona, Whitman County |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 46.9125°N -117.9281°W[3] |
| Mouth Elevation: | 1280feet |
| Basin Size: | 430sqmi |
Rock Creek is a tributary of the Palouse River in the U.S. state of Washington. The source of the creek is Pine Lakes in the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge (TNWR). The creek flows through the TNWR and ultimately joins the Palouse River 6miles downstream from the unincorporated town of Winona, Washington.
Rock Creek drains a basin of 430sqmi, 13 percent of the Palouse River basin.[4] Rock Creek drains Rock Lake and, upstream from that, Bonnie Lake. Rock Lake has a maximum depth of 350feet and a mean depth of 170feet.[5] Lakes within the Rock Creek drainage with managed fisheries include Rock and Bonnie Lakes and Chapman Lake. Many small lakes in the drainage have no outlets, and some evaporate completely in dry weather.[5]
As Rock Creek crosses the Columbia River Plateau, it passes through the Channeled Scablands, created by the Missoula Floods that swept across eastern Washington during the Pleistocene epoch. The creek follows one of many paths taken by the floods as they cut through the Columbia River Basalt. Notable geologic features in the Rock Creek basin include the scabland and Rock Lake. The creek parallels the adjacent Cow Creek scabland and joins the Palouse River just before it departs Washtucna Coulee, the abandoned flood-scoured course of the river.[6]
The Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail follows Rock Creek for a portion of the drainage, allowing unique access, particularly to Rock Lake.