Grand Coulee

[ koo-lee ]

noun

1. a dry canyon in central Washington: cut by the Columbia River in the glacial period. 52 miles (84 kilometers) long; over 400 feet (120 meters) deep.
2. a dam on the Columbia River at the northern end of this canyon. 550 feet (168 meters) high.

Grand Coulee

/ ˈkuːlɪ /

noun

1. a canyon in central Washington State, over 120 m (400 ft) deep, at the N end of which is situated the Grand Coulee Dam, on the Columbia River. Height of dam: 168 m (550 ft). Length of dam: 1310 m (4300 ft)

Word History and Origins

Origin of Grand Coulee¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

With electricity demand soaring, dams could produce vast quantities of cheap power by harnessing the water flowing through them to turn a turbine: The Grand Coulee Dam, built during the Great Depression atop the Columbia River, generates 21 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, enough to power 2 million homes.

From Slate

One, with tribes in the Upper Columbia region, provides significant funding to explore the reintroduction of salmon above Grand Coulee Dam.

From Seattle Times

Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to make portions of the upper Columbia River, the 150 miles upstream of Grand Coulee Dam including the vast recreational area known as Lake Roosevelt, a Superfund site.

From Seattle Times

Air, liquid and slag discharges of heavy metals from the zinc and lead smelter resulted in contamination all the way to the Grand Coulee.

From Seattle Times

The area between Grand Coulee and the Canadian border has for nearly 20 years been the subject of studies to better understand the extent of the pollution as part of a settlement agreement between the mining company and the U.S.

From Seattle Times