Grand Coulee

Chronicles the cultural history of the twelve tribes of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation.

This massive dam built in 1941 extends for nearly a mile across the mighty Columbia River, the dam is the largest hydroelectric producer in the country. It creates a 130-mile-long Lake Roosevelt, a National Recreation Area.

As colorful lasers reflect off the dam’s spillway, music and narration tell the story of Grand Coulee Dam in a unique and entertaining way. Viewable from several locations around the dam, the Laser Light Show plays once a night.

The park takes its name from the landscape's dominating feature, Steamboat Rock, a basalt butte that rises 800 ft above the lake. The butte's plateau was used by nomadic Native American tribes and by early settlers. During the last ice age, the monolith stood as an island in the new bed of the Columbia River where it had been diverted by ice dams. Once the dams burst creating massive floods and the Scablands, the Columbia returned to its original course, leaving Steamboat Rock as a prominent feature of the dry Grand Coulee.

The best spot for viewing the Grand Coulee Dam.

A homestead just north of Steamboat Rock.