Hanford Reach

The Hanford Reach is a free-flowing section of the Columbia River, around 51 miles (82 km) long, in eastern Washington state. It is named after a large northward bend in the river's otherwise southbound course.

Hanford Reach
A section of the Hanford Reach
Location
Country	United States
State	Washington
Physical characteristics
Source	Base of Priest Rapids Dam
• location	Near Desert Aire
• coordinates	46°38′35″N 119°54′39″W
• elevation	443 ft (135 m)
Mouth	Lake Wallula
• location	Richland
• coordinates	46°16′46″N 119°16′03″W
• elevation	340 ft (100 m)
Length	45 mi (72 km)
Basin size	96,000 sq mi (250,000 km2)
Discharge
• location	below Priest Rapids Dam
• average	118,400 cu ft/s (3,350 m3/s)
• minimum	20,000 cu ft/s (570 m3/s)
• maximum	547,400 cu ft/s (15,500 m3/s)
Basin features
River system	the Columbia River

Hanford Reach is the only section of the Columbia in the United States that is not tidal nor part of a reservoir, excluding a short reach between the Canada–United States border and the upper end of Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, the reservoir of Grand Coulee Dam. Much of the Hanford Reach flows through the Hanford Site, a nuclear production facility established during World War II. It is also the site of the Hanford Reach National Monument, created from the original protection area around the Hanford Site. Upstream of the Hanford Reach is Priest Rapids Dam and downstream is the McNary Dam, which also impounds the last stretch of the Snake River, the largest tributary of the Columbia.

The Hanford Reach includes the still extant Coyote Rapids[1][2] and supports over forty species of fish including significant numbers of spawning fall chinook salmon[3][4]