Crane Prairie Reservoir, Reservoir in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States

Crane Prairie Reservoir is a shallow reservoir on the Deschutes River about 42 miles southwest of Bend, Oregon, held back by a dam first built in 1922 and rebuilt in 1940. Its surface covers 16.77 km² at an elevation of 1,355 m, with an average depth of 3.1 m and a maximum of 6 m. The photograph shows wooden docks with moored skiffs and a low tree-lined shore across the water.

The reservoir takes its name from the cranes that lived on the Deschutes River prairie before the first dam was built in 1922. That dam was rebuilt by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1940. The impounded water is drawn from the Deschutes, which enters from Little Lava Lake 8.4 miles upstream and leaves via the dam toward Wickiup Reservoir.

The reservoir lies about 42 miles southwest of Bend in Deschutes County, reached by road from the Bend area. The dam sits at the south end, where the Deschutes River leaves for Wickiup Reservoir; the river enters from the north after flowing 8.4 miles from Little Lava Lake. Water covers 16.77 km² at an elevation of 1,355 m, with an average depth of 3.1 m and a maximum of 6 m, so submerged trees and weed beds of elodea, hornwort and pondweed lie close to the surface. Boats launch from the wooden docks seen in the photograph.

The heaviest fish recorded here was a 19-pound (8.6 kg) rainbow trout, and anglers call the lake's large trout "Cranebows". The reservoir is fed by the Deschutes River, which enters after flowing 8.4 miles (13.5 km) from Little Lava Lake and leaves via the dam toward Wickiup Reservoir.