Pasco

Pasco is a county seat in Franklin County, Washington, located at the meeting point of the Columbia and Snake rivers within the Tri-Cities metropolitan area. The layout spreads across flat terrain with wide streets and low buildings, while the river forms the northern edge of the town.

The railroad company Northern Pacific named this place in 1891 after a town in the Peruvian Andes when tracks were laid through the area. The construction of the Grand Coulee Dam in 1941 brought water to the dry fields around the town and turned the landscape into farmland.

Agriculture shapes daily life in this community, and food processing plants line the roads that lead into town. Vineyards spread across the nearby hills, and many residents work in wine production or handling crops grown in the irrigated fields.

Tri-Cities Airport sits a short drive away and connects the town to larger hubs across the United States. Buses run by Ben Franklin Transit travel regularly through the metropolitan area and link neighboring communities together.

The town carries a name unrelated to the region, chosen by engineer Virgil Bogue who worked on the railroad and remembered a mining town in Peru. The choice of this name still feels like a small puzzle that rarely gets explained to visitors.

Location: Franklin County

Inception: 1891

Elevation above the sea: 118 m

Part of: Columbia Plateau, Tri-Cities

Website: http://pasco-wa.gov

GPS coordinates: 46.23861,-119.10861

Latest update: December 13, 2025 17:57