Jeffrey L. Torretta

Columbia River & White Bluffs, Hanford Reach National Monument, Washington

Caption: Columbia River & White Bluffs, Hanford Reach National Monument, Washington
Copyright: © Jeffrey L. Torretta
Photographer Code: 42809
AGPix ID: AGPix_Torretta_0115
Photo Alignment: 4x5 (horizontal)
Comments: The White Bluffs form the eastern shore of the Columbia River immediately east of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. As a security buffer for the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site, these bluffs, along with the last free-flowing section of the Columbia River, have been relatively undisturbed for the past 60 years. Although now accessible (and protected) as the Hanford Reach National Monument, these picturesque cliffs are threatened by increased underground water from the Columbia Basin's massive irrigation projects. In recent years, large areas of these bluffs have sloughed off into the river due to excess underground water (as seen in the photograph).