Coulee City is a town in Grant County, Washington. The population was 549 at the 2020 census.
History
Coulee City was commonly known as McEntee’s Crossing of the Grand Coulee in the 19th century. In 1881, Philip McEntee, after helping a group of surveyors trying to lay down a road, built the first log cabin around Coulee City. Other important pioneers soon followed in the following years.
The town was named after nearby Grand Coulee. Coulee City was officially incorporated on May 10, 1907.
Geography
Coulee City sits on the southern shore of Banks Lake, a man-made reservoir that stretches for 27 miles to Grand Coulee Dam. At Coulee City, water from the reservoir enters a system of irrigation canals taking it to Billy Clapp Lake to the south and then beyond across the broader Columbia Basin Project.
Dry Falls, site of a catastrophic and large prehistoric waterfall, is located about two miles southwest of Coulee City.
U.S. Route 2 passes through the town from west to east and intersects State Route 17, which provides north-south connections. State Route 155 has its southern terminus immediately east of town, and provides connections to the Grand Coulee Dam and surrounding communities to the northwest.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land.