The dry lakebed of Crab Lake is one of the many small lakes connected by Crab Creek in the area. These lakes, by serving as reservoirs, prevent Crab Creek from going dry in the summer as do other creeks in this region, though it does disappear underground several times. Crab creek flows from Sylvan Lake just east of Odessa, westward along a narrow valley connecting to the towns of Irby, Marlin (Krupp), and Wilson Creek before emptying into Brook Lake just east of Stratford. The Burlington Northern Railroad follows this same valley.