The Columbia Basin Irrigation Project

The Columbia Basin Project is an irrigation project in Central Washington, USA. It provides water for over 600,000 acres (2,400 km²) of agriculture. Download high resolution version (520x823, 92 KB)Columbia basin project source: http://www. ... Download high resolution version (520x823, 92 KB)Columbia basin project source: http://www. ... Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil. ... Official language(s) English Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  Ranked 18th  - Total 71,342 sq mi (184,827 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 6. ...

History

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was created 1902 to aid development of dry western states. Central Washington's Columbia River Plateau was a prime candidate — a desert with fertile loess soil and the Columbia River passing through. The United States Bureau of Reclamation (Formerly the United States Reclamation Service) is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior which oversees water development projects in the western United States. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Columbia River Plateau is shown in green on this map. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Columbia River (French: fleuve Columbia) is a river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. ...

Competing groups lobbied for different irrigation projects; a Spokane group wanted a 134 mile (216 km) gravity flow canal from Lake Pend Oreille while a Wenatchee group (further south) wanted a large dam on the Columbia River near Grand Coulee, which would be filled with water pumped up from the river. Nickname: Location of Spokane in Spokane County and Washington Coordinates: Country United States State Washington County Spokane Government  - Mayor Dennis P. Hession Area  - City  58. ... Introduction to the Lake Garfield Bay on Lake Pend Oreille A lake in northern Idaho, with a area of 148 square miles. ... Wenatchee (IPA: ) is located at the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia rivers near the eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountain range in the U.S. State of Washington. ... The Grand Coulee The Grand Coulee is an ancient river bed in the U.S. state of Washington. ...

Note the difference between Grand Coulee and Grand Coulee Dam. The dam is on the Columbia River, while Grand Coulee itself is a large formerly-dry canyon-like coulee near the river. A coulee (or coulée) is a deep steep-sided ravine formed by erosion, commonly found in the northwestern United States and southwestern Canada. ...

After thirteen years of debate, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the dam project. Construction of the Grand Coulee Dam began in 1933 and was completed in 1942. Its main purpose of pumping water for irrigation was postponed during World War II in favor of electrical power generation that was used for the war effort. Additional hydroelectric generating capacity was added into the 1970s. The Columbia River reservoir behind the dam was named Franklin Delano Roosevelt Lake in honor of the president. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... For the town, see Coulee Dam, Washington. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Hydroelectric dam diagram The waters of Llyn Stwlan, the upper reservoir of the Ffestiniog Pumped-Storage Scheme in north Wales, can just be glimpsed on the right. ... The Ashokan Reservoir, located in Ulster County, New York, USA. It is one of 19 that supplies New York City with drinking water. ... Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake is the lake created by the Grand Coulee Dam. ...

The irrigation part of the project began operation in 1951. 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

Geology

Drumheller Channels, 10 miles (16 km) south of Potholes Reservoir, are examples of channeled scablands

The Columbia Basin in Central Washington is fertile due to its loess soils, but large portions are a near desert, receiving less than ten inches of rain per year. The area is characterized by huge deposits of flood basalt, thousands of feet thick in places, laid down over a period of approximately 11 million years, during the Miocene epoch.^[1] These flood basalts are exposed in some places, while in others they are covered with thick layers of loess. DrumHeller Channels; East edge of the Royal Slope in the Columbia Valley south of the Pot Holes Resviour by 10 miles; the lake I believe is Black Lake. ... DrumHeller Channels; East edge of the Royal Slope in the Columbia Valley south of the Pot Holes Resviour by 10 miles; the lake I believe is Black Lake. ... The PotHoles Reservoir is part of the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project. ... DrumHeller Channels The Channeled Scablands are unique geological erosion features in the U.S. state of Washington. ... The Columbia Basin is the large area of Canada and the United States that is drained by the Columbia River. ... This article is about arid terrain. ... Moses Coulee showing multiple flood basalt flows of the Columbia River Basalt Group. ... The Miocene Epoch is a period of time that extends from about 23. ...

During the last ice age glaciers shaped the landscape of the Columbia River Plateau. Ice blocked the Columbia River near the north end of Grand Coulee, creating glacial lakes Columbia and Spokane. Ice age glaciers also created Glacial Lake Missoula, in what is now Montana. Erosion allowed glacial Lake Columbia to begin to drain into what became Grand Coulee, which was fully created when glacial Lake Missoula along with glacial Lake Columbia catastrophically emptied.^[2] This flood event was one of several known as the Missoula Floods. Unique erosion features, called channeled scablands, are attributed to these amazing floods. Glacial and Glaciation redirect here. ... The Columbia River Plateau is shown in green on this map. ... Glacial Lake Missoula was a prehistoric proglacial lake in western Montana that existed periodically at the end of the last ice age between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago. ... Official language(s) English Capital Helena Largest city Billings Area  Ranked 4th  - Total 147,165 sq mi (381,156 km²)  - Width 255 miles (410 km)  - Length 630 miles (1,015 km)  - % water 1  - Latitude 44°26N to 49°N  - Longitude 104°2W to 116°2W Population  Ranked... Glacial Lake Columbia (west) and Glacial Lake Missoula (east) are shown south of Cordilleran Ice Sheet. ... DrumHeller Channels The Channeled Scablands are unique geological erosion features in the U.S. state of Washington. ...

Irrigation of the Columbia Basin

The Grand Coulee Dam was the largest dam in the world when it was built, but it was only part of the irrigation project. Grand Coulee had small dams added that turned part of it into the thirty mile (50 km) long Banks Lake. This was the first leg of storage and distribution for the water. Additional canals, siphons and lakes were built for a hundred miles (160 km) south of the dam. For the town, see Coulee Dam, Washington. ... Banks Lake is a 27 mile long reservoir in central Washington in the United States. ... siphon principle A siphon (also spelled syphon) is a continuous tube that allows liquid to drain from a reservoir through an intermediate point that is higher than the reservoir, the up-slope flow being driven only by hydrostatic pressure without any need for pumping. ...

Water is lifted 280 feet from Lake Roosevelt to feed the massive network. Some of the spring runoff is stored in this network for use throughout the growing season.

Between 2 and 3% of the Columbia's flow is currently diverted at the Grand Coulee Dam. There are plans to double the area of irrigated land, according to tour guides at the dam, over the next several decades. However, the Bureau of Reclamation website states that no further development is anticipated, with 671,000 acres (2,720 km²) irrigated out of the original 1.1 million acres (4,450 km²) planned.

Economic Value

Annual values from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation;

• Irrigated crops: $630 million
• Power produced: $950 million
• Flood damage prevented: $20 million
• Recreation: 3 million visits - $50 million

Unintended benefits

Hydroelectricity was never the primary goal of the project. There was no use at the time for the massive amounts of power available from the Columbia. World War II changed all that. The Hanford nuclear reservation was built just south of the project and aluminum smelting plants flocked to the Columbia Basin. A new power house was built at the Grand Coulee Dam, starting in the late sixties, that tripled the generating capacity. Part of the dam had to be blown up and re-built to make way for the new generators. Electricity is now shipped to Canada and as far south as San Diego. Hydroelectricity is the worlds most important renewable energy source The Nagarjuna dam & hydro-electric plant, India Hydroelectricity is electricity produced by hydropower. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Hanford Site plutonium production reactors along the Columbia River during the Manhattan Project. ... Flag Seal Nickname: Americas Finest City Location Location of San Diego within San Diego County Coordinates , Government County San Diego Mayor City Attorney         City Council District One District Two District Three District Four District Five District Six District Seven District Eight Jerry Sanders (R) Michael Aguirre Scott Peters Kevin...

The numerous new lakes provide all types of water recreation and new habitat was created for fish and game.

Environmental consequences

The salmon habitat above the dam was decimated. Fish ladders, although technically possible, were not built. This is especially dire because of the Native Americans who depended on the salmon for a way of life. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska. ...

See also

• Tributaries of the Columbia River
• Cities on the Columbia River
• Hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River
• Cascades Rapids

Tributaries of the Columbia River Going downstream Alphabetical Going downstream From the headwaters in British Columbia, Canada, to the mouth at Astoria, Oregon and beyond: Kicking Horse River Canoe River Kootenay River Flathead River Pend Oreille River Colville River Spokane River Sanpoil River Nespelum River Okanogan River Methow River Chelan... Cities on the Columbia River, listed in order going upstream: Ilwaco, Washington Chinook, Washington Warrenton, Oregon Astoria, Oregon Cathlamet, Washington Longview, Washington Rainier, Oregon Prescott, Oregon Goble, Oregon Kalama, Washington Columbia City, Oregon St. ... Hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River (Listed in order from the headwaters, to the Pacific Ocean) See also: Columbia River Categories: Lists of dams ... Cascades Rapids The Cascades Rapids (sometimes called Cascade Falls) is an area of rapids in the Columbia River where travelers by boat along the river were forced to either portage boats and supplies or pull boats up with ropes. ...

References

• Orr, Elizabeth L. and William N. Orr (1996) Geology of the Pacific Northwest, The McGraw-Hill Companies

Notes

1. ^ Orr (1996), pg. 288.
2. ^ Orr (1996), pg. 305.

External links

• History of the Columbia Basin Project
• Official Website