Columbia Plateau (Wikipedia)
The Columbia Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by the Columbia River.Kittitas County, Washington (Wikipedia)
Kittitas County (/ˈkɪtɪtæs/) is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. At the 2020 census, its population was 44,337. Its county seat and largest city is Ellensburg. The county was created in November 1883 when it was carved out of Yakima County. Kittitas County comprises the Ellensburg, Washington, Micropolitan Statistical Area.Interstate 90 (Wikipedia)
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at 3,021 miles (4,862 km). It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and the Northeast, ending in Boston, Massachusetts. The highway serves 13 states and has 16 auxiliary routes, primarily in major cities such as Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Rochester.eastbound on Interstate 82
- Manastash Ridge (Wikipedia)
Manastash Ridge is a long anticline mountain ridge located in central Washington state in the United States. Manastash Ridge runs mostly west-to-east in Kittitas and Yakima counties, for approximately 50 miles. The ridge is part of the Yakima Fold Belt of east-tending long ridges formed by the folding of Miocene Columbia River basalt flows.
eastbound on Interstate 90
- Wild Horse Wind Farm (Wikipedia)
The Wild Horse Wind Farm is a 273-megawatt wind farm that generates energy for Puget Sound Energy that consists of one hundred twenty seven 1.8-megawatt Vestas V80 turbines and twenty two 2.0-megawatt Vestas V80 turbines on a 10,800-acre (4,400 ha) site in Kittitas County, Washington, 17 miles (27 km) east of Ellensburg, Washington. The turbines are placed on the high open Shrub-steppe ridge tops of Whiskey Dick Mountain, which was chosen for its energetic wind resource, remote location, and access to nearby power transmission lines. The towers are 221 feet (67 m) tall, and each blade is 129 feet (39 m) long, with a total rotor diameter of 264 feet (80 m), larger than the wingspan of a Boeing 747. The turbines can begin producing electricity with wind speeds as low as 9 mph (14 km/h) and reach full production at 31 mph (50 km/h). They shut down at sustained wind speeds of 56 mph (90 km/h). The site is also home to one of the largest solar array (500 kW) in Washington.
- Wild Horse Wind Farm (Wikipedia)
The Wild Horse Wind Farm is a 273-megawatt wind farm that generates energy for Puget Sound Energy that consists of one hundred twenty seven 1.8-megawatt Vestas V80 turbines and twenty two 2.0-megawatt Vestas V80 turbines on a 10,800-acre (4,400 ha) site in Kittitas County, Washington, 17 miles (27 km) east of Ellensburg, Washington. The turbines are placed on the high open Shrub-steppe ridge tops of Whiskey Dick Mountain, which was chosen for its energetic wind resource, remote location, and access to nearby power transmission lines. The towers are 221 feet (67 m) tall, and each blade is 129 feet (39 m) long, with a total rotor diameter of 264 feet (80 m), larger than the wingspan of a Boeing 747. The turbines can begin producing electricity with wind speeds as low as 9 mph (14 km/h) and reach full production at 31 mph (50 km/h). They shut down at sustained wind speeds of 56 mph (90 km/h). The site is also home to one of the largest solar array (500 kW) in Washington.