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Banks Lake, 15 miles
Coulee City, 30 miles
Coulee Dam, 1 mile
Electric City, 4 miles
Elmer City, 3 miles
Grand Coulee, 2 miles
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Grand Coulee Dam, Washington
Cool Facts
Grand Coulee Dam, located on the Columbia River in central Washington, is one of the largest concrete structures in the world. Discover other cool facts about the dam.
Length: 5,223 feet or nearly a mile long!
Height: 550 feet above bedrock, or 46 stories tall.
It contains nearly 12,000,000 cubic yards of concrete. That's enough to build a sidewalk 4 feet wide and 4 inches thick, twice around the equator.
During construction a world record for pouring concrete was achieved, and it still stands. Over 20 thousand cubic yards of concrete was placed in one 24-hour period.
The plentiful gravel deposits made by the Columbia River were used to build the dam.
The dam is expected to last until the next ice age (10,000 years); the hydroelectric facilities for a mere 500 years!
Six power stations are arranged along the east arm of the wall. Each has the capacity to carry two Colorado Rivers.
Snow melt replenishes the upstream water level 30 to 50 feet each season.
It is rarely necessary to allow spillage over the top of the wall due to high water levels. What you see coming over is likely in aid of maintaining downstream flows for the fish runs.
Go Northwest!
Bookstore
Best selection of books on the Northwest.
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Grand
Coulee: Harnessing a Dream by Paul C. Pitzer and Isabel Valle.
Informative book providing an in-depth look at the dam as well as the
political decisions that allowed the dam to be built. Learn about the
history of the dam from its first conception to modern times.
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1000
Places Washington: 1000 Things to Do, See, and Experience in Washington
State for the Intrepid Adventurer by April Borbon. Written by a
freelance writer born and raised in Washington, this book shows one thousand
things to see and do from museums to tourist attractions to food
experiences. Learn some history and find new adventures.
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Great
Places: Washington: A Recreational Guide to Washington's Public Lands and
Historic Places for Birding, Hiking, Photography, Fishing, Hunting and
Camping
by John Kruse. The geology, animal and plant life, and history of
Washington's most-storied and scenic locales, including the best local
lodging and amenities are explained in this full color guide.
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