Roll On, Columbia, Roll On near Cascades Rapids, in The Dalles, and on Memaloose Isle. The final three verses describe the construction of two Columbia River dams: Bonneville Dam and Grand Coulee Dam. Bonneville Dam, the first dam built on the Columbia, had locks built into it so ships could navigate past it, alleviating worries that a dam would prevent the shipment of goods and passengers along the length of the river. Guthrie's lyrics describe Grand Coulee Dam as "the mightiest thing ever built by a man"; when it was built it was the largest concrete dam in the world, and as of 2012 it
Grand Coulee, Washington Grand Coulee, Washington Grand Coulee is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 988 at the 2010 census. Grand Coulee was officially incorporated on November 6, 1935. It is located above the Grand Coulee Dam and next to North Dam. Grand Coulee is located at (47.939706, -119.001597). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. As of the census of 2010, there were 988 people, 474 households, and 246 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 554