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2017 Map of Locke Island

Name: 2017 Topographic Map of Locke Island
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2017
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2017

About this map

The Hanford Reach of the Columbia River flows through a landscape defined by significant 20th-century history and conservation efforts. This area contains the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which commemorates the industrial complex that transformed this region. The map preserves the locations of early 20th-century settlements like White Bluffs and East White Bluffs, as well as the smaller communities of Ruth and Pierce, most of which were evacuated during the war years.

Conservation areas now dominate the northern and eastern portions of the map, notably the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge and the Wahluke Slope. The river itself remains free-flowing here, unlike much of the dammed Columbia, encircling Locke Island and flanked by the towering sedimentary formations of the White Bluffs. Infrastructure like the White-Bluffs-Wasteway and E State Rte 14 provide modern context to this sparsely populated but historically heavy terrain.