Wahluke Slope is a geographic feature in Grant , Benton and Adams Counties of Eastern Washington . It is a broad, south-facing slope with a grade of about 8%, situated between the Saddle Mountains and the Columbia River's Hanford Reach . It has been described as "basically a 13-mile-wide gravel bar" created by the Glacial Lake Missoula floods at the end of the last ice age about 15,000 years ago. Much of the Slope, part of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation , was added to the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge in 1999. Much of the remainder is used for viniculture .
38-633: Washington State Route 24 extends from Mattawa, Washington on the western edge of the Slope nearly due east–west. Mattawa is the only population center on the Slope. There was once a town of Wahluke and a Wahluke ferry that crossed the Columbia to the north of White Bluffs. The land was acquired by the U.S. government for the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the residents, including Wanapum people, ordered to leave in 1943. In two actions in 1953 and 1958
76-567: A tug -and-barge ferry. During World War II , the U.S. military selected the Hanford area as the site of a major weapons development facility and a section of SSH 11A was acquired via a request of the Secretary of War filed on July 21, 1943. The 28-mile (45 km) section, located between Cold Creek and Hanford, was closed permanently to non-military traffic on November 15, 1943, and divided SSH 11A into two disconnected highways. The rest of
114-503: A ferry across the Columbia River at White Bluffs , and a road continuing to Connell, bypassing Othello . The state government did not improve the gravel county roads that encompassed SSH 11A, but did relocate its toll-free ferry from White Bluffs to Hanford in May 1938. The Hanford ferry was initially planned to use a cable-operated system, but costs forced it to be downgraded to
152-580: A large-scale evacuation of the Hanford area. The west end of SSH 11A was truncated to the newly-opened Yakima bypass (part of I-82 ) in November 1963. The Vernita Bridge began construction in October 1964 and was opened to traffic on October 1, 1965, replacing the state-run ferry. The bridge was funded using $ 3 million in bonds (equivalent to $ 22.1 million in 2023 dollars) that were paid off using
190-589: A major highway connecting to the Tri-Cities , at the northeast corner of the reserve. SR 24 turns north at the junction and travels along the northwest edge of the Hanford Site , flanked by fences on both sides of the road. The highway descends from the plateau by turning west and returning to its northerly course, eventually reaching a rest area on the south shore of the Columbia River . SR 24 crosses
228-483: A series of passing lanes along SR 24 between Silver Dollar and Cold Creek in response to increased truck traffic. Rattlesnake Hills 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
266-423: A toll of 75 cents to $ 2.50 collected until 1977. During the 1964 state highway renumbering , SSH 11A was divided between three new state highways under the sign route system: State Route 24 (SR 24) from Yakima to the junction with SSH 11G (now SR 17), SR 170 from Ringold on the Columbia River to Mesa , and SR 260 between Mesa and Connell. The Ringold section of SR 170
304-714: Is a state highway in the south-central region of Washington , in the United States. It travels 79 miles (127 km) from Yakima to Othello , across a portion of the Columbia Plateau . The highway crosses the Columbia River on the Vernita Bridge , located near the Hanford Site . SR 24 terminates to the west at an interchange with Interstate 82 (I-82) in Yakima and to the east at SR 26 in Othello. The highway
342-538: Is an American Viticultural Area located in Yakima County and Benton County, Washington in Washington state . United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) awarded Rattlesnake Hills its appellation status on March 20, 2006, making Rattlesnake Hills Washington's ninth federally recognized American Viticultural Area. The Rattlesnake Hills AVA is entirely contained within the Yakima Valley AVA , which
380-666: Is in turn is entirely contained within the larger Columbia Valley AVA . The hills form the northern boundary of Yakima Valley, and the AVA includes land between the north bank of the Sunnyside Canal and the entirety of the southern slopes of the Rattlesnake Hills between Outlook and the Wapato Dam . The AVA is centered on the city of Zillah . With elevations ranging from 850 feet (259 m) to 3,085 feet (940 m), this AVA contains
418-660: Is of particular concern to the nuclear facilities at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation (immediately north of the Rattlesnake Hills) and major dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers . The Range 12 fire was started on July 31, 2016, in eastern Washington , at the Yakima Training Center northeast of Yakima, Washington . The city it started closest to was Moxee, Washington on July 30, 2016 local time . It quickly grew to over 176,000 acres (71,000 ha) to cover parts of Yakima County and Benton County . The fire
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#1733086160760456-561: The Black Rock Valley . The hills extend into the Hanford Site . A spur on the north side of the ridge nearly connects with the west end of Yakima Ridge . Roza Canal , used for agricultural irrigation, passes under the Rattlesnake Hills through a tunnel. Named high points of the Rattlesnake Hills, according to the USGS, include Elephant Mountain, Zillah Peak, Eagle Peak, High Top, Lookout, and Rattlesnake Mountain. The Rattlesnake Hills AVA
494-471: The Fukushima nuclear disaster by Newsweek magazine . As of January 21, 2018, a large but slow landslide is occurring in the Rattlesnake Hills, about 3 miles south of Yakima in Washington , USA. The event first drew news coverage in late 2017, after a long fissure was discovered high on Rattlesnake Ridge: this fissure was reported to be 250 feet deep in one place. The first road closure for public safety
532-647: The Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge and into Adams County . The highway leaves the Hanford Reach National Monument and forms the boundary between Adams and Franklin counties for several miles, briefly turning to cross a section of the Saddle Mountains . Near the former Othello Air Force Station , SR 24 turns north and follows Radar Road through farmland on the outskirts of Othello . After entering Othello,
570-661: The SunDome arena. SR 24 travels southeasterly from the interchange as a four-lane divided highway and crosses the Yakima River into unincorporated Yakima County near Yakima Sportsman State Park . The highway narrows to two lanes and continues southeast along the Central Washington Railroad , a branch of the BNSF Railway , changing course to bypass the city of Moxee on its south side. SR 24 continues beyond
608-636: The Atomic Energy Commission returned almost 200,000 acres (810 km) to public use, mostly for agriculture with irrigation recently provided by Columbia Basin Project sources. Settlement on the Slope by non-Native Americans has been termed as troubled, initially due to lack of water, then later by the Federal Government's land policies, resulting in "sporadic" growth of the town of Mattawa. The potential for release of nuclear contaminants into
646-455: The Columbia River between Vernita and White Bluffs, passing through a less-restricted portion of the Hanford Site. The road was built as part of an agreement between the state and federal governments that was negotiated during the lawsuit, as an alternative to re-opening SSH 11A across the Hanford restricted zone. A private toll ferry connecting SSH 11A at Vernita to SSH 7C on
684-577: The Columbia River on the Vernita Bridge , a 1,982-foot-long (604 m) steel truss bridge downriver from the Priest Rapids Dam . On the north side of the bridge in Grant County , the highway intersects SR 243 , which travels along the Columbia River towards Mattawa and Vantage . SR 23 turns northeast and follows the south wall of the Wahluke Slope before traveling due east across
722-743: The Silver Dollar Cafe, the highway intersects SR 241 , an auxiliary route that travels south towards Sunnyside . SR 24 continues northeast from the junction and enters Benton County , where it climbs a section of the Yakima Ridge and exits the valley. The highway crosses part of the Fitzner–Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve , a restricted wildlife preserve that forms part of the Hanford Reach National Monument . SR 24 meets SR 240 ,
760-464: The Slope in the event of a nuclear accident, and the historical atmospheric releases in the ranges of many Curies per month, are of concern to modern authors on Hanford. Viniculture is a major agricultural activity on the Slope, with nearly 10,000 acres (40 km) of vineyards. 46°45′N 119°30′W / 46.750°N 119.500°W / 46.750; -119.500 Washington State Route 24 State Route 24 ( SR 24 )
798-464: The east side of the Yakima River had worsened by the late 1990s and prompted the state government to consider a $ 35 million replacement and expansion project. The project was combined with a floodplain restoration plan proposed by the county government in response to a major flood in 1996 and originally considered building a second bridge upriver and realigning the highway. A revised plan placing
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#1733086160760836-471: The folding of Miocene Columbia River basalt flows . The Rattlesnake Hills form the northern edge of the Yakima Valley , running from the vicinity of Benton City to just south of the city of Yakima , where the Yakima River cuts through the mountain ridge via Union Gap . To the west of the Yakima River the mountain ridge is known as Ahtanum Ridge. North of the Rattlesnake Hills is Moxee Valley and
874-429: The higher replacement bridge next to the existing crossing, saving costs and environmental mitigation for 7 acres (2.8 ha) of wetlands , was adopted in 2002 and funded by the legislature's 2003 Nickel Program gas tax. Construction on the new bridge and the widened four-lane highway began in May 2005 and was dedicated on June 28, 2007, costing a total of $ 54.5 million. In 2008, the state government also built
912-601: The highest point in the Yakima Valley AVA. The Rattlesnake Ridge is one of the larger "folds" in the Yakima Fold Belt . The Yakima Fold Belt is an area of topographical folds (or wrinkles) raised by tectonic compression. It is a 14,000 km (5,400 sq mi) structural-tectonic sub province of the western Columbia Plateau Province resulting from complex and poorly understood regional tectonics. The folds are associated with geological faults whose seismic risk
950-535: The highway becomes Broadway Avenue and continues through an industrial area before terminating at an underpass with SR 26 . The two highways are connected via an extension of 1st Avenue on both sides of the underpass. SR 24 is maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which conducts an annual survey on the state's highways to measure traffic volume in terms of annual average daily traffic . The busiest section of
988-401: The highway had been paved by the state government in the early 1940s, with the exception of a section west of Connell that remained gravel. SSH 11A was relocated in 1953 to a crossing of the Columbia River north of Cold Creek at Vernita and would continue along a new highway along the Columbia River to the east end of the former Hanford ferry. The state government had initially expected
1026-477: The highway to re-open after the war, but continued use of Hanford for weapons and energy development prompted them to file a lawsuit against the federal government to seek reimbursement to fund construction of the new highway around the site. The U.S. District Court 's decision to award only $ 1 in nominal damages in 1952 was upheld by a decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals two years later, citing
1064-604: The highway, at its interchange with I-82, carried a daily average of 23,000 vehicles in 2016; the least busiest section of the highway, northeast of the Vernita Bridge, carried only 1,100 vehicles. A short section between I-82 and Faucher Road in Moxee is designated as a MAP-21 arterial under the National Highway System , a network of roads identified as important to the national economy, defense, and mobility. SR 24
1102-523: The north side of the river began operating in November 1957 and was taken over by the state in May 1961. The state government completed construction of the paved 8.3-mile (13.4 km) highway along the Wahluke Slope on May 19, 1961, extending SSH 11A to a junction with SSH 11G south of Othello. As part of the agreement with the federal Atomic Energy Commission , the highway was ringed by fences and signs prohibiting parking and loitering, as well as controlled traffic signals that would allow for
1140-634: The railroad's terminus and runs deeper into the Moxee Valley, an irrigated area situated between the Yakima Ridge and Yakima Training Center to the north and the Rattlesnake Hills to the south. At the east end of the valley, SR 24 turns northeast and crosses through a narrow pass in the hills before reaching the Black Rock Valley, which it continues across. Midway through the valley at
1178-467: The state's delay in identifying a suitable alternate route. In response, Representative Donald H. Magnuson introduced a Congressional bill to reimburse $ 581,721 to the state (equivalent to $ 4.83 million in 2023 dollars), but it was vetoed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in September 1957. From January 1954 to December 1955, Army Corps of Engineers constructed a dirt road on the north side of
Wahluke Slope - Misplaced Pages Continue
1216-412: The west end of Ahtanum Ridge just south of Yakima, Washington and west of Union Gap, Washington . The highest point in the hills (as well as Benton County ) 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
1254-462: Was added to Washington's state highway system in 1937 as Secondary State Highway 11A (SSH 11A), which traveled from Primary State Highway 3 (PSH 3) and US 410 in Yakima to PSH 11 and US 395 in Connell . The highway was preceded by several unpaved roads built by county governments along the corridor by the 1910s, including a road across the Moxee and Black Rock valleys,
1292-521: Was added to the state highway system in 1937 as Secondary State Highway 11A (SSH 11A), composed of several county-built gravel roads from Yakima to Connell , with a ferry crossing at Hanford . The Hanford section of SSH 11A was closed in 1943 due to wartime activities at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, forcing the state government to relocate the highway to the north side of the Columbia River. The new highway opened in 1961 and
1330-504: Was later transferred to Franklin County in 1967, per a clause in a 1963 highway bill that was triggered by the completion of SR 240 . SR 24 was formally codified in 1970, with its eastern terminus changed to a junction with SR 26 south of downtown Othello. The Othello link was built by the end of the decade, effectively completing all of SR 24. Congestion on a two-mile (3.2 km) section of SR 24 between I-82 and
1368-402: Was reported on December 17, 2017. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources has a web-page providing information on the event, which reports that the moving mass of basalt is about 4 million tons, covering about 20 acres, and it is slipping roughly south at a rate of about 1.5 feet per week. On the weekend of January 20–21, 2018 there was flurry of new reporting, which highlighted
1406-517: Was supplanted by the new Vernita toll bridge in 1965. During the 1964 state highway renumbering , SR 24 replaced most of SSH 11A and was rerouted to a terminus in Othello. SR 24 begins in eastern Yakima as an extension of Nob Hill Boulevard at a diamond interchange with I-82 and the concurrent US 12 and US 97 . The interchange is located southeast of the Central Washington State Fairgrounds and
1444-526: 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
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