Skip to main content

Washington State Route 155 and the Coulee Corridor

I recently took US 2 across Washington State from Leavenworth to Spokane, but decided to make a detour up to the Grand Coulee Dam. The detour took me up WA 155 from Coulee City along Banks Lake to Grand Coulee, through a place where roads meets epic geologic history. WA 155 is part of the Coulee Corridor National Scenic Byway, boasting quite a number of scenic views as it goes through the Grand Coulee.


The story of this stretch of land begins a long time ago, during the Ice Age. There was a large ice sheet known as the Cordilleran ice sheet that covered western Canada, as well as portions of Idaho, Montana and Washington State. Towards the end of this glaciation, about 12,000-15,000 years ago, a large ice dam blocked the Clark Fork River in the Idaho Panhandle, creating Glacial Lake Missoula. Glacial Lake Missoula was a massive lake 2,000 feet deep, filling the valleys of western Montana, stretching more than 200 miles. At its maximum height and extent, the lake contained more than 500 cubic miles of water. Every so often, the ice dam would fail, resulting in a large catastrophic flood, rushing across northern Idaho and eastern and central Washington, down the Columbia River, through the Columbia River Gorge, and finally poured into the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River.

Thundering waves and chunks of ice stripped away hundreds of feet of soil, carved  mountainsides into deep canyons, or coulees, into the underlying bedrock, deposited giant ripple marks, created the Channeled Scablands of Eastern Washington and carved the Columbia River Gorge. When Lake Missoula burst through the ice dam and exploded downstream, it did so at a rate 10 times the combined flow of all the rivers of the world and at speeds of about 65 miles an hour, draining in as little as 48 hours. This towering mass of water and ice literally shook the ground as it thundered toward the Pacific Ocean. Grand Coulee, along with Dry Falls and Palouse Falls were all were created by these flood waters.

Today, the flooding is over, but the evidence of the Missoula Floods remain. WA 155 travels alongside a canyon that was once one of the channels of the Columbia River during these floods. It makes for a nice and memorable drive as the road meanders along the east bank of the 27 mile long Banks Lake and passes by Steamboat Rock State Park. Let's take a ride now, shall we?


We start near Coulee City, where US 2 veers east through rolling hills and pastures on its way to Spokane. We're some 27 miles away from the Grand Coulee Dam at this point. A few miles southwest of here is Dry Falls, which is an ancient waterfall that was once the world's largest waterfall.

You can start to make out the canyon walls that make up the edges of the coulee. There's also some grazing land for cattle.

Riding the edge of the canyon that will follow the roadway most of the way to the town of Electric City.
I spy a grand opening...

And boom goes the dynamite. That's an incredible view.
Banks Lake to our left, canyon walls to our right.

Obligatory WA 155 shield photo.

Steamboat Rock
Heading into the Northrup Canyon. This is a good area to go hiking and even see bald eagles during the winter.

Back to Banks Lake and canyon walls.
Getting into the outskirts of Electric City...

...and arriving at the junction of WA 155 and WA 174 in Grand Coulee. Both towns are near the Grand Coulee Dam. This is where our story ends, but there is a neat engineering marvel that you should see first.
If you so desire, you can check out the Grand Coulee Dam, which is just a couple miles to the north.


Sources and Links:
Scenic Washington State 365 - Coulee Corridor National Scenic Byway
Montana Natural History Center - Glacial Lake Missoula
The Columbia River: A Photographic Journey - Missoula Floods



How to Get There:

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dillon Road

Dillon Road is a 34.2-mile highway located in northern Coachella Valley of Riverside County, California.  Dillon Road begins at Avenue 48 on the outskirts of Indio and ends to the west at California State Route 62 near San Gorgonio Pass.  Dillon Road was developed the 1930s as a construction road for the Colorado River Aqueduct.  Dillon Road serves as a northern bypass to much of the development of Coachella Valley.  Dillon Road is known for it's frequent dips and spectacular views of San Gorgonio Pass.   Part 1; the history of Dillon Road Dillon Road was constructed as a haul road for the Colorado River Aqueduct through Coachella Valley.  The Colorado River Aqueduct spans 242 miles from Parker Dam on the Colorado River west to Lake Mathews near Corona.  Construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct began during January 1933 near Thousand Palms and was made functional on January 7, 1939.  West of Berdoo Canyon Road the alignment of Dillon Road is largely concurrent with the Colorado

Oldtown Toll Bridge - Maryland and West Virginia

  The Oldtown Toll Bridge linking Oldtown, Maryland over the Potomac River with neighboring Green Spring, West Virginia is only one of a few truly privately owned toll bridges located in the United States. It's a simple bridge by design, as the 318 foot long Oldtown Toll Bridge is a low water bridge. Low water bridges are designed to allow water to safely and efficiently flow over the bridge deck. Additionally, a dozen concrete pedestals have been secured in the Potomac River in order to support the bridge and wooden deck. The bridge was constructed in 1937 when a gentleman by the name of Mr. Carpenter obtained the proper permits to build the Bridge through an Act of Congress. This was a blessing for residents, especially on the West Virginia side of the Potomac River, as it saved motorists commuting to Cumberland an hour in travel time. Using Mr. Carpenter's blueprints, the Army Corp of Engineers and a number of local laborers constructed the bridge and it remained under the

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road is an approximately 21-mile highway located in southeast Kern County.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road begins at Tehachapi Boulevard (former US Route 466) in Tehachapi and crosses the Tehachapi Mountains via the 4,820-foot-high Oak Creek Pass.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road enters Antelope Valley of the wider Mojave Desert and passes by the historic stage station of Willow Springs to a southern terminus at Rosamond Boulevard.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road has historic ties to the Havilah-Los Angeles Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road due to the once reliable presence of water at Willow Springs. Part 1; the history of Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road Oak Creek Pass and Willow Springs were known to the local tribes of the Tehachapi Mountains for generations.  The first documented European crossing of Oak Creek Pass was during 1776 as part of an expedition by Francisco Garces.  Oak Creek Pass is as used again by John C. Fremont during an 1844-1845 expedition to e