The Yakima River is a tributary of the Columbia River in south central and eastern Washington state, named for the indigenous Yakama people. Lewis and Clark mention in their journals that the Chin-nâm pam called the river Tâpe têtt, possibly from the French tape-tête, meaning "head hit". The length of the river from headwaters to mouth is 214 miles (344 km), with an average drop of 9.85 feet per mile (1.866 m/km). It is the longest river entirely in Washington state.
The Tri-Cities are three closely linked cities at the confluence of the Yakima, Snake, and Columbia Rivers in the Columbia Basin of Eastern Washington. The cities border one another, making the Tri-Cities seem like one uninterrupted mid-sized city. The three cities function as the center of the Tri-Cities metropolitan area, which consists of Benton and Franklin counties. The Tri-Cities urban area consists of the city of West Richland, the census-designated places (CDP) of West Pasco, Washington and Finley, as well as the CDP of Burbank, despite the latter being located in Walla Walla County.
Richland is a city in Benton County, Washington, United States. It is located in southeastern Washington at the confluence of the Yakima and the Columbia Rivers. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 60,560. Along with the nearby cities of Pasco and Kennewick, Richland is one of the Tri-Cities, and is home to the Hanford nuclear site.
Yakima County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 256,728. The county seat and most populous city is Yakima. The county was formed out of Ferguson County in January 1865 and is named for the Yakama tribe of Native Americans.
Grant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 99,123. The county seat is Ephrata, and the largest city is Moses Lake. The county was formed out of Douglas County in February 1909 and is named for U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant.
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 96,749. The county seat and most populous city is Pasco. The county was formed out of Whitman County on November 28, 1883, and is named for Benjamin Franklin.
Kennewick is a city in Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima rivers and across from the confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers. It is the most populous of the three cities collectively referred to as the Tri-Cities. The United States Census Bureau estimated the population to be 84,750 as of 2022, up from 83,921 at the 2020 United States Census.
Benton City is a city in Benton County, Washington, United States. It is also included in the Tri-Cities metropolitan area, which consists of both Benton and Franklin counties. The population was 3,479 at the 2020 census. The city shares a school district with the adjacent unincorporated community of Kiona.
Prosser is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Washington, United States. Situated along the Yakima River, it had a population of 6,062 at the 2020 census.
West Richland is a city in Benton County, Washington. The population was 16,295 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is part of the Tri-Cities metropolitan area, whose principal cities are Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco.
Pasco is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Washington, United States. The population was 77,108 at the 2020 census, and 79,315 as of the July 1, 2022 estimate.
Burbank is a census-designated place (CDP) in Walla Walla County, Washington, United States, where the Snake River meets the Columbia. The population was 3,291 at the 2010 census. Named for Luther Burbank, the city is located just east of Pasco and Kennewick, across the Snake and Columbia Rivers, respectively. Burbank is part of the Tri-Cities, WA urban area, despite being located in the Walla Walla metropolitan area.
Grandview is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. It is about 38 miles west of Kennewick and 38 miles southeast of Yakima. The population was 10,907 at the 2020 census. Grandview's economy is agriculture based; with apples, cherries, concord and wine grapes, hops, asparagus, corn, wheat, dairy and other fruit and vegetable production supported by processing plants and cold storage facilities.
State Route 240 (SR 240) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Washington. It travels diagonally from northwest to southwest within Benton County, serving the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the Tri-Cities region. The highway begins at a junction with SR 24 and travels around Richland on a limited-access bypass. From there, it briefly overlaps Interstate 182 (I-182) and continues southeast as a freeway along the Columbia River into Kennewick, terminating at an interchange with U.S. Route 395 (US 395). SR 240 is one of the busiest highways in the Tri-Cities region, with a daily average of 76,000 vehicles on a section crossing the Yakima River Delta.
Red Mountain is located in the southeast corner of Washington state near the Tri-Cities between Rattlesnake Mountain and Candy Mountain. This region is situated among the Columbia, Snake and Yakima Rivers. The mountain covers an area of approximately 4,040 acres (6.31 sq mi). Its name is derived from the red-wine springtime bloom of the drooping brome or "cheatgrass" on its slopes.
The Rattlesnake Hills, also known as Rattlesnake Ridge, is a 16-mile (26 km) long anticline mountain ridge in Yakima County and Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington. It should not be confused with the much smaller Rattlesnake Ridge located near the west end of Ahtanum Ridge just south of Yakima, Washington and west of Union Gap, Washington. The highest point in the hills is the 3,629 feet (1,106 m) Lookout Summit, which surpasses the more well-known Rattlesnake Mountain by approximately 100 ft (30 m). The Rattlesnake Hills are part of the Yakima Fold Belt of east-tending long ridges formed by the folding of Miocene Columbia River basalt flows.
Ben Franklin Transit is the operator of public transportation in Franklin and Benton counties in the U.S. state of Washington. Eighteen routes provide local service for the three component urban areas of the Tri-Cities: Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco. Five routes connect the Tri-Cities metro area, as well as extend to the municipalities of Benton City, Prosser, and West Richland. Most routes run six days a week. Bus service runs between 6AM and 10:00PM, Monday-Friday and 7AM and 10:00PM on Saturdays and select holidays. Trans+Plus covers the Tri-Cities portion of the service area 8:30PM to 12:00AM Monday-Saturday and 7:30AM to 6:00pm on Sundays. There is also an ADA Paratransit service Dial-a-Ride for those who are physically unable to use the regular transit bus service. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 3,171,000, or about 11,400 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.
The Kennewick–Pasco–Richland metropolitan area—colloquially referred to as the Tri-Cities metropolitan area, and officially known as the Kennewick–Richland, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area—is a metropolitan area consisting of Benton and Franklin counties in Washington state, anchored by the cities of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland. As of July 1, 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates the population of the metropolitan area to be 311,469, making it the third-largest metropolitan area located entirely in Washington, after the Seattle metropolitan area and the Spokane metropolitan area. Although it is located outside of the metropolitan area, the CDP of Burbank is part of the Tri-Cities urban area.
The following is a timeline of the history of the Tri-Cities, an area of the U.S. state of Washington encompassing the cities of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland.
The Range 12 fire was started on July 30, 2016 in eastern Washington at the Yakima Training Center east of Yakima, Washington near Moxee, Washington. It quickly grew to over 176,000 acres (71,000 ha) to cover parts of Yakima County and Benton County. The fire was the third in recent years to affect the area surrounding the Hanford Reach National Monument and the Arid Lands Ecology Reserve near Rattlesnake Ridge. The fire was eventually contained through the use of controlled burns on Rattlesnake Mountain in Benton County due to concerns that the fire was getting too close to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, which had recently been compared to the Fukushima nuclear disaster by Newsweek magazine earlier in 2016. A lawsuit was filed by ranchers in the area due to loss of property, but was dismissed due to questions of jurisdiction. Even though there were no findings from the Anderson v. United States of America case, the dismissal document from May 21, 2019, points to a cause for the fire:
The Army training unit continued to engage in live fire training exercises through the afternoon on July 30, 2016. At approximately 4:40 p.m., one of the Army training unit's soldier's fired a machine gun at a target using tracer rounds. SJF ¶ 74. One of the tracer rounds ricocheted from the target area and landed on some brush, which started a brush fire. Id. The fire spread beyond the YTC and onto Plaintiffs' rangeland properties, causing property damage to Plaintiffs' cattle businesses.
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