This is a video version of one of A&E's "Time Machine" episodes hosted by Jack Perkins. The video begins with a brief description of the geology which produced the Columbia River Gorge and the Grand Coulee. This is followed by a review of the dpression era and the conditions and the political climate that existed at the time the dam was built. Much time is spent detailing the construction of the dam itself with many good film shots and lots of interesting narrative. As an added bonus there is also considerable information and film footage of the construction of Hoover Dam. The video is laced with snippets of interviews with L. Vaughn Downs, a key dam engineer and author of the book The Mightiest of Them All: Memories of Grand Coulee Dam.

This video is for sale at many places around the dam site (including the Visitor Arrival Center) and can also be ordered through your local video store. For on-line ordering try Family Home Video.

Cover Text

The completion of the Grand Coulee Dam proved America's industrial might could overcome any obstacle, even Mother Nature. Construction of this massive dam on Washington's Columbia River began in 1931.

But the sheer magnitude of the project brought on unique problems in need of inventive solutions. When bedrock was exposed, a huge volume of clay began creeping forward, threatening to swallow up the foundation. After much frantic deliberation, engineers froze the clay, and saved the day. Here is the uncommon history of this imposing structure, including the imaginative construction methods, and the astonishment it still evokes today.