Grand Coulee, the name itself implies that it is large and imposing. In fact it is the largest electric power producing facility in America with 3 power plants. Constructed in 1933 - 1942, it was originally intended to provide a steady source of water for agriculture in eastern Washington. Built during the administrations of Franklin Roosevelt, he thought it would create jobs, provide cheap electrical power, help farmers irrigate their land and be a central piece of the New Deal in Washington.
In the picture below, there is a powerhouse on the right side of the spillway, and two on the left hand side.
Because Grand Coulee was close to being finished when WWII started, it’s electricity was considered essential to the war effort. Boeing factories in Seattle, shipyards near Portland, aluminum smelters in Vancouver, WA and plutonium enrichment in Richland, WA, all were powered with electricity from Grand Coulee. IN fact, electricity was so vital for the war effort in this area that 2 generators originally scheduled for another dam were diverted to Grand Coulee.
Below are 2 workers with jackhammers drilling holes for the dynamite to blast the rock walls so the dam can be built. Imagine hanging by a rope, dangling over the edge of the rock face holding a heavy, jiggling jack hammer.
No project of this magnitude is without controversy. In the process of clearing the 70,000 acres of land that Lake Roosevelt would flood, 11 towns, 2 railroads, 3 state highways, county roads, 4 sawmills, 14 bridges, 4 telephone and telegraph systems, individual homesteads, cemeteries - all had to be relocated or cleared. Even today, when the dam is low Native American archaeologists go into the flooded area and retrieve grave sites and other remains. The dam also blocked the salmon runs upon which many depended. The average annual catch of 600,000 salmon was eliminated. The Native American tribes used to celebrate the coming of the salmon, in June of 1941, they gathered at the Falls for the ‘Ceremony of Tears, marking the end of fishing in the Coulee area.
Here are two pictures I took of some plaques in an exhibit showing the immensity of the land taken by the dam.
We took the tour which features a good narrative from the tour guides as the bus takes you to the dam. Our guide told us about the towns that were constructed for the workers on the dam - first all-electric cities in America, the difference between the town built for the managers and that for the workers, the irrigation facilities, the size of everything and many other facts. She also explained the security which was very evident and strong. We went through security monitors before we boarded the bus. One person at a time in the monitoring room. They had a special gate the our tour bus had to get through to get to the top of the dam, built to withstand a ramming bus. However, because this gate is so expensive, they park a police car in front of it so a ramming bus would hit the car first. We had just come from the 3 dams on the Skagit river which powered Seattle and saw no guards at all. Interesting comparison.
The tour itself was only of the generators which powered the pumps to irrigate the land. We saw nothing else. Since electrical production occupies 3/4 of the dam, we really didn’t see much. We did get out of the bus at the top of the dam which is immense - a few yards short of a mile in length. Here I’ve got a picture of the 3rd powerhouse, built at an angle to the rest of the dam. A person could walk through those penstocks, the round tubes in the picture below.
Here are some other facts about Grand Coulee that I got in the Visitor Center.
Here’s the original control panel for the first powerhouse. There was one of these for each of the 6 large generators in it and one person stood by this all the time. Now, of course, it is all electronic.
In the evening the spillways are all opened, white foamy water spills over and a laser show is projected upon this ‘screen.’ And, on the 4th, when we were here, fireworks are sent skyward from the dam after the laser show.
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