2023 Map of Locke Island

About this map

The Columbia River carves a dramatic path through the high desert of South Central Washington, defining the boundaries of Grant, Benton, and Franklin counties. This 2023 survey highlights a landscape of immense national significance, where the Manhattan Project National Historical Park and the Hanford Reach National Monument converge. The topography is dominated by the White Bluffs and East White Bluffs, which rise steeply above the Hanford Reach, the last free-flowing non-tidal stretch of the river in the United States. To the north, the Wahluke Slope and the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge provide a buffer of protected habitat. Cultural history is etched into the terrain at the small localities of Ruth and Pierce, while the Hanford Ditch and the Wahluke Walking Trl offer evidence of the area's agricultural and recreational development.