Hanford Site - Geography

Geography

The Hanford Site occupies 586 square miles (1,518 km2) in Benton County, Washington (centered on 46°38′51″N 119°35′55″W / 46.6475°N 119.59861°W / 46.6475; -119.59861Coordinates: 46°38′51″N 119°35′55″W / 46.6475°N 119.59861°W / 46.6475; -119.59861), roughly equivalent to half of the total area of Rhode Island. This land is currently uninhabited and is closed to the general public. It is a desert environment receiving under 10 inches of annual precipitation, covered mostly by shrub-steppe vegetation. The Columbia River flows along the site for approximately 50 miles (80 km), forming its northern and eastern boundary. The original site was 670 square miles (1,740 km2) and included buffer areas across the river in Grant and Franklin counties. Some of this land has been returned to private use and is now covered with orchards and irrigated fields. In 2000, large portions of the site were turned over to the Hanford Reach National Monument. The site is divided by function into three main areas. The nuclear reactors were located along the river in an area designated as the 100 Area; the chemical separations complexes were located inland in the Central Plateau, designated as the 200 Area; and various support facilities were located in the southeast corner of the site, designated as the 300 Area.

The site is bordered on the southeast by the Tri-Cities, a metropolitan area composed of Richland, Kennewick, Pasco, and smaller communities, and home to over 230,000 residents. Hanford is a primary economic base for these cities.