Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area under the supervision of the National Park Service. It encompasses the long Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake between Grand Coulee Dam and Northport, Washington, in eastern Washington state. The Grand Coulee Dam was built on the Columbia River in 1941 as part of the Columbia River Basin project, named for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area provides opportunities for fishing, swimming, canoeing, boating, hunting, camping, and visiting historic Fort Spokane and St. Paul's Mission. Crescent Bay Lake in Grant County just southwest
Grand Coulee Dam The dam's powerhouse began production around the time World War II began, and its electricity was vital to the war effort. The dam powered aluminum smelters in Longview and Vancouver, Washington, Boeing factories in Seattle and Vancouver, and Portland's shipyards. In 1943, its electricity was also used for plutonium production in Richland, Washington, at the Hanford Site, which was part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. The demand for power at that project was so great that in 1943, two generators originally intended for the Shasta Dam were installed at Grand Coulee to hurry the generator installation schedule. Water is pumped