Grand Coulee Dam Grand Coulee Dam Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had only two powerhouses. The third powerhouse, completed in 1974 to increase energy production, makes Grand Coulee the largest power station in the United States by nameplate-capacity at 6,809 MW. However, in terms of yearly power production, Grand Coulee places fifth after a number of nuclear facilities to the south, like Palo Verde west of Phoenix, as the river flow varies throughout
Birch Coulee Battlefield edge is a steep wooded ravine, a landform known locally by the French term "coulee," also spelled "coulie" or "cooley." Birch Coulee, known to the Dakota as "Tanpa Yukan" (Place of the White Birch), is deep and runs for a total of down to the Minnesota River. A few hundred yards to the west of the coulee, the prairie rises slightly onto a gentle knoll. On September 1, 1862, a burial detail of about 170 Union Army volunteers and civilians under Major Joseph R. Brown camped on the prairie west of Birch Coulee. The site was selected by Captain Hiram