Interesting Facts About Rocky Reach Dam

Construction began on phase one of Rocky Reach Dam in 1956, and phase two in 1969. The dam sits about seven miles north of the city of Wenatchee, Washington and is part of the hydroelectric power grid of North Central Washington.

Now, for 15 things you may not have known about Rocky Reach Dam:

1. Lake Entiat is what the widening in the Columbia River caused by Rocky Reach Dam is called

2. The original site selected for Rocky Reach Dam was actually about one mile farther upriver than its present site. One thing that would be different, had the dam been built there, is that there would be no water recreation area at Lincoln Rock State Park, and quite possibly no State Park at all.

3. Rocky Reach Dam has 11 generators, seven were built with the original construction and four were added during phase 2 in 1969.

4. No tax money was used in the construction of Rocky Reach Dam. The dam construction was paid for with revenue bonds. Revenue bonds pledge money from future earnings of the project to pay off the costs of building the project.

5. The Museum of the Columbia and the Rocky Reach Dam Interpretive Center are not only located at Rocky Reach Dam, they are located on the dam itself, a short walk from where the dam meets the shoreline on the west bank of the river.

6. The Rocky Reach Dam Park, complete with climbing toys and picnic shelters, is 38 acres in size.

7. Across the front of Rocky Reach Dam are 12 spillway gates to release water through.

8. Water passing through the spillway gates is surplus water not needed for power generation, or is used as a way to help fish navigate past the dam.

9. If traveling on the Columbia River from Rocky Reach Dam, you would have to cover 215 miles upstream before you reached the Canadian border, and 473 miles downstream to reach the Pacific Ocean.

10. Though construction on Rocky Reach Dam didn’t begin until 1956, as early as 1934 the Army Corps of Engineers recommended a dam to be built at the site.

11. The original cost of the Rocky Reach Hydroelectric Project was $273.1 million dollars.

12. New adjustable blades were fitted to all eleven turbines in Rocky Reach Dam in 1995, among other things these new blades are more “fish friendly”.

13. In 1998, one of the older turbines not being used any longer was placed on display near the playground area for visitors to see.

14. There are approximately 42 species of trees planted on the grounds at Rocky Reach Dam.

15. Located within the museum at Rocky Reach Dam is an actual dugout canoe used long ago by Native Americans in the area.