Today in the Tri-Cities of Washington State

The Area Climate

In the southeastern portion of Washington that the Tri-Cities area is in, the climate is mostly a desert climate where vegetation must survive on typically seven to eight inches of rainfall each year. However, with that lack of rain comes the 300 days of sunshine that the Tri-Cities experience each year, though significant winds can crop up. Snow does occur but is largely a seldom occurrence as temperatures range from 10 degrees to 110 degrees. Because of the significant wind activity that can crop up, the desert climate’s sand and dust environment can sometimes kick up dust storms for residents in the area. Though the climate may be desert, the presence of three key rivers, the Yakima, Washington and Snake Rivers, gives the area a lifeline of water for easy irrigation

A Unique Geography

The Tri-Cities area is the largest population base in the southeastern portion of Washington state in the northwest United States. Though the Pacific Northwest is often famous. for its wet conditions, the Tri-Cities area is a desert climate, a fact helped by the Cascade Mountain Range that flanks the area. The rain shadow brought on by the range heightens the desert nature of the area.Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, all have their own school districts. Kennewick maintains three high schools, Kennewick HS, Kamiakin HS and Southridge HS, while Richland has two, Richland HS and Hanford HS, and Pasco has one, Pasco HS. Because of the growth Pasco has seen over recent years, an additional high school is planned for the area to be opened in 2009. The Tri-Cities also house some higher education institutions such as the Columbia Basin College, a community college in Pasco, and a Washington State University branch campus in Richland.

Local Schooling

Education in the area is taken care of on a city-by-city basis as the three cities that make up the Tri-Cities,

A Changing Economy

At its roots, the Tri-Cities economy is based on farming, aided by the irrigation opportunities afforded by the rivers in the area. Pasco led the charge in the early days as farming there came easy with an excellent soil makeup. A variety of goods were grown then and are still grown in the area, including wheat, potatoes, corn and some fruit.

That changed with the arrival of the Hanford Site in the 1940s, a plutonium processing plant installed by the United States government during World War II to aid in nuclear weapon production. The arrival of the installation brought with it an influx of workers, some 45,000 strong, that took up residence in so-called ABC Houses built specifically for the workers. The nature of the installation’s business was kept largely secret until after Hanford-refined plutonium was used in the Nagasaki bombing in 1945. Until the end of the Cold War, the Hanford Site continued to process plutonium for nuclear arms. At that time, the installation converted into a nuclear waste processing facility.

One recent addition to the local economy has been the growing prominence of the area’s wine industry, now second in the United States in size only to the Napa Valley. As the popularity of the wines produced in the area increases, so too will the exposure and tourism generated by the wine industry. On the corporate front, a number of business maintain large facilities in the Tri-Cities area, including economic heavyweights like the Battelle Memorial Institute, Amazon.com, Reser’s Find Foods, Tyson Foods and Lockheed Martin.

What To Do

Rivers play an integral part in the recreational options found in the Tri-Cities area as the Columbia River in particular affords a number of fishing and boating opportunities at various points along the river. The Sacagawea Heritage Trail is also a key part of the recreational makeup of the area, offering 22 miles of hiking through the various parts of the Tri-Cities area. Because of the favorable weather conditions in the area, golf and other outdoor activities are available a large portion of the year and the local population typically takes advantage of every opportunity to get outdoors.

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