Ice Age Floods and the History of Grand Coulee Dam

Exhibits

What sculpted the modern landscape of Spokane Valley?

Ice Age Floods and the History of Grand Coulee Dam

At the end of the last Ice Age, a finger of the Cordilleran ice sheet crept southward into the Idaho panhandle, forming a large ice dam that blocked the mouth of the Clark Fork River, creating a massive lake 2000 feet deep and containing more than 500 cubic miles of water. Thousands of years later, Grand Coulee Dam was built on the Columbia River. Though construction of the dam provided jobs during the Great Depression, Grand Coulee Dam severely damaged the physical and spiritual health of members of the Columbia River Indian tribes. Learn what shaped the landscape of the Valley, and the ways humans interact with nature at this new exhibit.

Now open at the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum

Open Wednesday – Saturday, 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Current Exhibits

Chaos, Change & Culture

Chaos, Change & Culture

Visit the tumultuous decade of the 1960s. Tragedies and triumphs marked a decade of social and political change. Learn about events and people that changed the Nation. Civil Rights, Apollo 11, Vietnam, the Summer of Love, and more.

Interactive and Immersive Exhibits

Interactive and Immersive Exhibits

Explore the extraordinary artifacts and photos showcasing nearly every aspect of the Spokane Valley’s and the surrounding area’s early history.

The Apple Was King

The Apple Was King

Apple orchards were the chief economic driver in Spokane Valley’s early years. Without water, however, none of it was possible.

Under One Sky

Under One Sky

The exhibit features the early history (1850s-1890s) of the Spokane Valley’s native tribes, settlers, missions, the Mullan Military Road, and more.