"Roll along Columbia,
you can ramble to the sea,
But river while you're rambling,
you can do some work for me"

-Woody Guthrie

The Columbia River Basin Project


This change in use proved important historically. During the war years, the dam provided massive amounts of energy to the burgeoning aluminum and aircraft industries of the Pacific Northwest, contributing to one of the primary factors for the US victory. A significant percentage of that power, it was later revealed, was also diverted to the Hanford Nuclear Site, a crucial component of the Manhattan Project.

But while the dam has helped shape the course of US and world history, it has also had profoundly negative impact on species and people native to the region. The Grand Coulee permanently blocks important fish species, such as salmon and steelhead, from over 1000 miles of spawning ground in the Upper-Columbia River. Consequently, Native American populations that depend on the fish for their way of life have lost traditional fishing grounds. The creation of Lake Roosevelt also eliminated habitats for numerous species, including mule deer.

So, while the Columbia works for us as it rambles to the sea, we must also wonder about the cost of the labor.

The Collection

Donated to the library by the University of Idaho College of Engineering, the "Dam Construction in the Pacific Northwest Collection" is important for several reasons. First, the extraordinarily thorough descriptive metadata associated with the images gives researchers a special insight into the construction methods, precise locations, and photographers associated with the project. Even the contracting companies responsible for carrying out particular projects are listed in the metadata.

Second, the photographs' artistic quality provides viewers an understanding of the human element (and superhuman scale) involved in the construction of the Grand Coulee. The photographers responsible for the collection perform a superb journalistic balancing act by documenting the technical aspects of the construction while capturing the grand ambitions and accomplishments of the people behind it.

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Columbia River Basin Project Collection

Historical photographs of Grand Coulee Dam and Columbia River Basin Project construction, 1933-1965 i


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