Nespelem River before the river empties into the Columbia River. This reach of the Columbia River is several miles below Grand Coulee Dam and many miles above Chief Joseph Dam. The impounded Columbia River behind Chief Joseph Dam, into which the Nespelem River flows, is called Rufus Woods Lake. Nespelem River The Nespelem River is a northern tributary of the Columbia River, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is completely contained within Okanogan County and the Colville Indian Reservation. The name "Nespelem" is said to come from the Indian word "nesilim", meaning "flat land". The Nespelem River originates in eastern Okanogan
Lind Coulee Archaeological Site Lind Coulee Archaeological Site The Lind Coulee Archaeological Site, also known as 45GR97, is the site of an archaeological dig near Warden, Washington. It dates to c. 11,000 cal BP. When it was first discovered in 1947, the site was seen as the first evidence of human habitation of Washington older than about 2,000–4,000 years. It was discovered by the River Basin Surveys program of the Smithsonian Institution. Richard Daugherty (then a graduate student at the University of Washington) was informed of the existence of bones and stone tools about underground, and he began visiting the site in 1948. From