Hanford Reach National Monument
Encyclopedia
The Hanford Reach National Monument is a national monument
in the U.S. State of Washington. It was created in 2000, mostly from the former security buffer surrounding the Hanford Nuclear Reservation (Hanford Site). The area has been untouched by development or agriculture since 1943.
The monument is named after the Hanford Reach
, the last non-tidal, free-flowing section of the Columbia River
in the United States, and is one of only two National Monuments administered by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
. President Bill Clinton
established the monument by presidential decree in 2000.
Ancestors of the Wanapum People, Yakama Nation
, Confederated Tribes of the Colville
, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation and the Nez Perce used the land for hunting and resource collecting.
Geographically, the area is part of the Columbia River Plateau
, formed by basalt
lava flows and water erosion. The shrub-steppe
landscape is harsh and dry, receiving between 5 and 10 inches (254 mm) of rain per year. The sagebrush-bitterbrush-bunchgrass lands are home to a wide variety of plants and animals, and the Hanford Reach provides one of the Northwest's best salmon spawning grounds. Forty-eight rare, threatened, or endangered animal species have found refuge on the monument, as well as several insect species found nowhere else in the world.
spawn in the Hanford reach. Federally threatened species such as the Upper Columbia River Spring Chinook, the Middle Columbia River Steelhead
and the Upper Columbia River Steelhead use the reach for migration purposes.
The refuge is famous for the elk
located on the Arid Lands Ecology Area. Herd numbers vary by time of year with 150 seen during the spring/summer and 350 to 375 during the fall. The elk population reaches its peak in the winter with an average of 670. Archaeologists believed the elk had been in the region for the last 10,000 years. During the mid-19th century, first hand accounts mentioned the disappearance of the species. Rocky Mountain elk were reintroduced into the region during the 1930s.
The dry, desert region is home to forty-two mammal species. Mice are the most abundant and include the deer mouse, western harvest mouse, northern grasshopper mouse. Large mammals such as bobcats, cougars and badgers are found in small numbers.
atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan (August 9, 1945). The reactor’s significance has led to many distinctions including a place on the National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, National Register of Historic Places, Nuclear Historic Landmark, National Civil Engineering Landmark and National Historic Landmark.
The monument is open from two hours before sunrise to two hours after sunset; some areas are open to the public and others are not:
U.S. National Monument
A National Monument in the United States is a protected area that is similar to a National Park except that the President of the United States can quickly declare an area of the United States to be a National Monument without the approval of Congress. National monuments receive less funding and...
in the U.S. State of Washington. It was created in 2000, mostly from the former security buffer surrounding the Hanford Nuclear Reservation (Hanford Site). The area has been untouched by development or agriculture since 1943.
The monument is named after the Hanford Reach
Hanford Reach
The Hanford Reach is a free-flowing section of the Columbia River, about long, in eastern Washington state, named after a large northward bend in the river's otherwise southbound course. It is the only section of the Columbia in the U.S...
, the last non-tidal, free-flowing section of the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
in the United States, and is one of only two National Monuments administered by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
established the monument by presidential decree in 2000.
Ancestors of the Wanapum People, Yakama Nation
Yakama
The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, or simply Yakama Nation , is a Native American group with nearly 10,000 enrolled members, living in Washington. Their reservation, along the Yakima River, covers an area of approximately 1.2 million acres...
, Confederated Tribes of the Colville
Colville Indian Reservation
The Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Washington, inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which is recognized by the United States of America as an American Indian Tribe...
, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation and the Nez Perce used the land for hunting and resource collecting.
Geographically, the area is part of the Columbia River Plateau
Columbia River Plateau
The Columbia Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by the Columbia River...
, formed by basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
lava flows and water erosion. The shrub-steppe
Shrub-steppe
Shrub-steppe is a type of low rainfall natural grassland. Shrub-steppes are distinguishable from deserts, which are too dry to support a noticeable cover of perennial grasses or other shrubs, while the shrub-steppe has sufficient moisture levels to support a cover of perennial grasses and/or...
landscape is harsh and dry, receiving between 5 and 10 inches (254 mm) of rain per year. The sagebrush-bitterbrush-bunchgrass lands are home to a wide variety of plants and animals, and the Hanford Reach provides one of the Northwest's best salmon spawning grounds. Forty-eight rare, threatened, or endangered animal species have found refuge on the monument, as well as several insect species found nowhere else in the world.
Fish and Wildlife
There are two main habitats in the Hanford Reach National Monument: desert and river. Islands, riffles, gravel bars, oxbow ponds and backwater sloughs provide support to forty-three species of fish. Large numbers of fall Chinook salmonChinook salmon
The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...
spawn in the Hanford reach. Federally threatened species such as the Upper Columbia River Spring Chinook, the Middle Columbia River Steelhead
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
and the Upper Columbia River Steelhead use the reach for migration purposes.
The refuge is famous for the elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
located on the Arid Lands Ecology Area. Herd numbers vary by time of year with 150 seen during the spring/summer and 350 to 375 during the fall. The elk population reaches its peak in the winter with an average of 670. Archaeologists believed the elk had been in the region for the last 10,000 years. During the mid-19th century, first hand accounts mentioned the disappearance of the species. Rocky Mountain elk were reintroduced into the region during the 1930s.
The dry, desert region is home to forty-two mammal species. Mice are the most abundant and include the deer mouse, western harvest mouse, northern grasshopper mouse. Large mammals such as bobcats, cougars and badgers are found in small numbers.
Hanford Nuclear Reservation
Hanford Reach is home to nine nuclear reactors of which B Reactor is the most famous; constructed in 13 months during World War II, it was the world’s first full scale reactor. Plutonium from the reactor was used in the first nuclear explosion at the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range in New Mexico (July 16, 1945) and in the Fat ManFat Man
"Fat Man" is the codename for the atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, by the United States on August 9, 1945. It was the second of the only two nuclear weapons to be used in warfare to date , and its detonation caused the third man-made nuclear explosion. The name also refers more...
atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan (August 9, 1945). The reactor’s significance has led to many distinctions including a place on the National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, National Register of Historic Places, Nuclear Historic Landmark, National Civil Engineering Landmark and National Historic Landmark.
Access
- Fitzner-Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve - access permitted for ecological research, closed to the public.
- Columbia River Corridor - shore and open water is generally open to the public.
- McGee Ranch and Riverlands - public day use.
- Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, located at 46°41′18"N 119°37′39"W - access permitted for ecological research, closed to the public.
- Vernita Bridge - open to the public.
- Wahluke Slope - open to the public.