Coulee Dam

Coulee Dam, town on the Columbia River, northeast-central Washington, U.S. It is located at a point where Grant, Douglas, and Okanogan counties meet, 80 miles (129 km) west-northwest of Spokane. Founded in 1934 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as a construction town for workers on the Grand Coulee Dam (completed 1942), its incorporation required a special enactment of the state legislature. Together with the communities of Elmer City, Grand Coulee, and Electric City, it is a home for service employees of the huge gravity dam that is the focus of the multipurpose Columbia Basin Project. Coulee Dam also serves as headquarters of the Lake Roosevelt National Recreational Area, which encompasses more than 157 square miles (406 square km) and includes Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, extending northeastward with a 660-mile (1,062-km) shoreline. The Grand Coulee Reservoir runs southwestward for 50 miles (80 km) past Coulee City to Soap Lake, which is noted for its medicinal waters. Inc. 1959. Pop. (2000) 1,044; (2010) 1,098.