Wanapum: Columbia River, WA

The dam was named in recognition of the Wanapum religious leader Smowhalla and the small band of indigenous people that lived during the winter at a village near the last of seven rapids, called Priest Rapids.  A small group of the Wanapum continues to live alongside the tailrace of the dam.

Construction Start: July 1956
Power Generation Began: October 1959
General Construction Contract Cost: $91,880,625
Length: 10,103 feet
Maximum Height from Deepest Excavation Point: 178 feet
Spillway Length: 1,142 feet
Number of Tainter Gates: 22 (each gate is 40 feet X 50 feet)
Number of Turbines: 10
Horsepower of Each Turbine: 114,000