Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region

Grand Coulee Area Information

Grand Coulee Dam is located in rural, eastern Washington, 85 miles northwest of Spokane, Washington. The area includes the four small communities of Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam, Electric City and Elmer City with a combined total population of approximately 3,500 people. The towns offer many amenities including a new school, a new hospital and clinic, several religious organizations, shopping, restaurants, and motels.

Recreational opportunities in the area include fishing, hiking, camping, hunting, boating, waterskiing, sailing, swimming, and wildlife viewing. There is an eighteen-hole, all-grass golf course and bowling alley. History of the area abounds at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center, Colville Tribal Museum and the Coulee Pioneer Museum.

The area is in the high desert consisting of sagebrush, rabbit brush, and bunchgrasses which dominate the landscape with Ponderosa Pine being a less dominant species. Average precipitation is 7 – 10 inches per year. Summers are warm and sunny. Winters are cold with minimal precipitation.

The landscape includes the Columbia River, which is backed up by Grand Coulee Dam to form Lake Roosevelt. Basalt cliffs line the deep canyon, known as the Grand Coulee, formed by the Ice Age Floods approximately 13,000 years ago. This environment attracts a wide variety of wildlife including many species of birds, deer, coyote, cougar, and occasionally bobcat, bear and moose.

Related Links

Grand Coulee Chamber of Commerce

Grand Coulee Dam Natural History

Grand Coulee Dam Cultural History

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Contact
Grand Coulee Visitor Center
509-633-9265
pninfo@usbr.gov