The Tri-Cities are three closely tied cities – Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland – located at the confluence of the Yakima, Snake, and Columbia Rivers in the Columbia Basin of Eastern Washington. Each city borders 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 Franklin and Benton Counties. The Tri-Cities urban area consists of the city of West Richland, the CDPs of West Pasco and Finley, as well as the CDP of Burbank, despite the latter being located in the Walla Walla metropolitan area.
Richland is a city in Benton County in the southeastern part of the State of Washington, at the confluence of the Yakima and the Columbia Rivers. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 48,058. July 1, 2017, estimates from the Census Bureau put the city's population at 56,243. Along with the nearby cities of Pasco and Kennewick, Richland is one of the Tri-Cities, and is home to the Hanford nuclear site.
Benton County is a county in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, its population was 175,177. The county seat is Prosser, and its largest city is Kennewick. The Columbia River demarcates the county's north, south, and east boundaries.
Interstate 182 (I-182) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Washington. The state highway is an Interstate route, traveling around the city of Kennewick, the largest of the three Tri-Cities in Eastern Washington. I-182 passes through the cities of Richland and Pasco, located in Benton and Franklin counties, respectively. The four-lane freeway, which is concurrent with U.S. Route 12 (US 12) for its entire 15-mile-long (24 km) length, begins at an interchange with I-82 in the Horse Heaven Hills and runs through Richland, becoming concurrent with State Route 240 (SR 240). I-182 and US 12 cross over the Columbia River into Pasco on the Interstate 182 Bridge and become concurrent with US 395 before the former designation ends abruptly.
Eastern Washington is the portion of the US state of Washington east of the Cascade Range. The region contains the city of Spokane, the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the fertile farmlands of the Yakima Valley and the Palouse. Unlike in Western Washington, the climate is dry, including some desert environments.
The John Day Dam is a concrete gravity run-of-the-river dam spanning the Columbia River in the northwestern United States. The dam features a navigation lock plus fish ladders on both sides. The John Day Lock has the highest lift (110 feet) of any U.S. lock. The reservoir impounded by the dam is Lake Umatilla, and it runs 76.4 miles up the river channel to the foot of the McNary Dam. John Day Dam is part of the Columbia River Basin system of dams.
Kamiakin High School is a public high school in Kennewick, Washington, the second of three comprehensive high schools in the Kennewick School District. Kamiakin opened in the fall of 1970 and serves the district's northwest portion. The school colors are scarlet and gold and the mascot is the Braves.
Lower Monumental Lock and Dam is a hydroelectric, concrete, run-of-the-river dam in the northwest United States. Located on the Snake River, it bridges Franklin and Walla Walla counties in southeast Washington. It is six miles (10 km) south of Kahlotus and 43 miles (70 km) north of Walla Walla.
Ice Harbor Lock and Dam is a hydroelectric, concrete gravity run-of-the-river dam on the Snake River in Walla Walla and Franklin counties in the U.S. state of Washington. The dam is located 8 miles (13 km) northeast of the town of Burbank and 12 miles (19 km) east of Pasco, river mile 9.7. Its name comes from a tiny bay in the river where boats once tied up to wait for upstream ice-jams to break up.
The Cable Bridge, officially called the Ed Hendler Bridge and sometimes called the Intercity Bridge, spans the Columbia River between Pasco and Kennewick in southeastern Washington as State Route 397. It was constructed in 1978 and replaced the Pasco-Kennewick Bridge, an earlier span built in 1922 and demolished in 1990.
The Blue Bridge is a four-lane arch-truss bridge connecting Pasco, Washington to Kennewick, Washington. U.S. Route 395 crosses the Columbia River via this bridge. The name comes from the blue paint used on the truss superstructure, with white paint on the suspension beams. The bridge was painted green at time of construction. It is one of three bridges connecting Pasco to the other members of the Tri-Cities of Washington, along with the Cable Bridge to the east and the Interstate 182 Bridge from Richland to the northwest.
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.
The Interstate 182 (I-182) Bridge, formally known as the Lee-Volpentest Bridges is the collective name for a pair of bridges carrying Interstate 182 over the Columbia River between Pasco and Richland in the U.S. state of Washington. They are named after Glenn C. Lee, publisher of the Tri-City Herald, and Sam Volpentest, a prominent local businessman. It is one of three bridges connecting Pasco to the other members of the Tri-Cities of Washington, along with the Cable Bridge and the Blue Bridge.
McNary National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife preserve, one of the national wildlife refuges operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Extending along the east bank of the Columbia River in southeastern Washington, from the confluence of the Snake River to the mouth of the Walla Walla River, and downstream into Oregon, McNary NWR is located in rural Burbank, but very close to the rapid development of the Tri-Cities. In fact, the refuge meets the definition of an "urban refuge." Few areas in North America support waterfowl populations in the extraordinary numbers found here. Visitors enjoy spectacular concentrations of Canada geese, mallards, and other waterfowl. More than half the mallards in the Pacific Flyway overwinter at some time in this portion of the Columbia River Basin.
The Sacagawea Heritage Trail is a relatively flat 23 miles (37 km) multi-use recreational trail in the Tri-Cities, Washington. It travels along the Columbia River for its entire length, forming a loop that connects Pasco, Richland and Kennewick. The entire trail is paved. Mile markers count up from Sacajawea State Park at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers.
Clover Island is a small island in the Columbia River located between the Blue Bridge and the Cable Bridge in Kennewick, Washington. It is roughly 2,400 feet (730 m) long, 700 feet (210 m) wide and has an area of 16 acres (6.5 ha). The island is owned by the Port of Kennewick. Prior to the construction of the McNary Dam near Umatilla, Oregon, Clover Island had an area of around 162 acres (66 ha).
The Kennewick–Richland, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of Benton and Franklin Counties in Washington State, anchored by the cities of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland. As of April 1, 2017, the Washington State Office of Financial Management, Forecasting Division estimates the population of the metropolitan area to be 283,830, 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 Yakima River Delta is an area of land in Richland, Washington where the Yakima River enters the Columbia River at River Mile 335. It hosts several protected areas and is crossed by State Route 240. This area is mostly floodplain with riparian-type growth, including non-native species such as Russian olive. Amon Creek enters the Yakima River in this area.
