Richland is a city located within the southeastern portion of the state of Washington in the county of Bento, United States. It is situated at the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima Rivers. The city's population was 48,058 according to the census of the year 2010. Richland forms amongst the Tri-Cities of Washington, along with the nearby cities of Pasco and Kennewick. The Washington State Office of Financial Management placed Richland's population at approximately 49,090 as of April 1, the year 2011. The city is home to the Hanford nuclear site.
The village of Chemna was at the mouth of the current Yakima River for centuries. Nowadays, the village location is known as Columbia Point. The village Walla Walla Indians and the Wanapum Yakama Indians harvested the salmon runs entering the Yakima River. On October 17, 1805, Captain William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition visited the mouth of the Yakima River. The city of Richland grew to become a center of production and research of nuclear energy and associated technology after World War II ended.
Richland has been the home of the PNNL or also known as Pacific Northwest National Laboratory ever since 1965. The Richland technology center has seen lots of high technology business and expert consultants emerge in the region. One of the 2 Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory sites is situated immediately north of Richland.
Some of the well-known employers within the city include Bechtel National Inc. who is responsible for building a waste vitrication plant, Washington Closure, who is providing cleanup efforts and waste management including decontamination and demolition of facilities along the Columbia River. Battelle Memorial Institute is operating PNNL and Washington River Protection Solutions are controlling different operations of the nuclear waste tank farms.
The CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company manages the D&D of facilities on the Central Plateau site, while the U.S. Department of Energy is responsible for operating the Hanford Site. Duratek Federal Services Inc. provides services to the United States government and nuclear power at a neighboring reactor facility is generated by Energy Northwest. The business Areva creates nuclear fuel and Lockheed Martin Services Inc. offers technology services.
The Tri-Cities area and the city of Richland itself are important agriculture centers because this particular area of the Columbia Basin grows fantastic produce. ConAgra/Lamb-Weston is an important food processor within the city of Richland. They process numerous kinds of food and a lot of potatoes.
Among the main businesses in the area has been wine production in the lower Columbia Basin. The city is within the center of a large viticulture region that makes internationally recognized wines within 4 major Washington appellations. The city of Richland serves as an ideal center for wine tours.
Approximately over 7,000 hectares of the Columbia Valley appellation surrounds Richland and is devoted to the planting of wine grapes. To the east, the Walla Walla Valley appellation has 500 hectares of wine grapes and on the west; the Yakima Valley appellation has 5000 hectares of wine grapes. Red Mountain is located to the immediate west and has 350 hectares plated to grapes. They are the proud producers of world class wines and many blends are consistent award winning Cabernet Sauvignons from the state's first quarter century of fine winemaking. Many of these wine producers just use fruit harvested from the Red Mountain vineyards close to the city.