Lake Roosevelt a reservoir on the Columbia River created by Grand Coulee Dam. The weather tends to stay mild in the winter and warm in the summer. Rainfall is less than 15 inches per year and the number of sunny days is extraordinary. The lake is 150 miles long and has over 650 miles of shoreline.
HISTORY: On May 11, 1950 Harry S. Truman came to the Grand Coulee for dedication ceremonies and to unveil a plaque naming the expansive reservoir behind the huge dam "Lake Roosevelt." Few can dispute both the short-range and long-range benefits derived from this massive project. However, it must be remembered that the construction of the dam and resulting lake displaced many small towns and thousands of people, including the Colville Tribe, who had lived and fished along the banks of the upper Columbia for generations. On the day the waters covered Kettle Falls, a traditional fishing grounds, the Salish people held a "ceremony of tears." The dam was built with no fish ladders, thus ending the salmon spawning runs forever.
Today the tribe administers this National Recreation Area in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, the National Parks, the Spokane Tribe, and Bureau of Indian Affairs. It operates a number of enterprises around the lake, including a marina at Keller Ferry that serves as the departure point for their fleet of houseboat rentals. This region has become a virtual paradise for all kinds of outdoor activities and water sports. It has over 600 miles of shoreline and consists of 81,000 acres of lake surface. There are nearly 30 species of fish in the lake now, thanks to on-going grass roots efforts to stock it with trout and "kokanee" (landlocked sockeye salmon). Plan a trip to this sunny oasis.
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