Why was Washington State an attractive site for aluminum production during World War II?
score:2
This spurt of aluminum production in Washington had nothing to do with aluminum deposits. Rather, this was brought about by to dramatic changes—the beginning of World War II, and the opening of several large dams in Washington State. The abundance of hydroelectric power from recently built large dams (like the famous Grand Coulee Dam, the largest in the world at that time) aided the powering of aluminum factories in such cities as Vancouver, Tacoma, and Wenatchee. With the entrance of the United States into World War II, the demand for aluminum production also increased. (Most warplanes were built primarily of aluminum; the typical heavy bomber required 15000 pounds of that metal!) And since the foremost American producer of warplanes—Boeing—was located in Seattle, Washington was an ideal location for the placement of wartime aluminum factories.
Upvote:0
Just to add: http://siteselection.com/ssinsider/snapshot/sf020916.htm
Alco help finance a majority of this hydro-dam as part of the requirments to produce aluminum there. I believe what ever they dont use as far the electricity generated. They bleed back into the grid to supply the communities and the dam remains in the Icelandic states control. Not a bad deal as working together is a great example. Instead of the money hungery nature of most today. ...Peace.....
Upvote:1
Washington State is the home of the Columbia River, and its tributary, the Snake River.
The Columbia River is "only" the fourth longest river in the U.S., but it traverses the hilliest terrain. As such, it is the most suitable for building dams to generate hydroelectric power.
As another poster points out, hydroelectric power is more necessary to the smelting of aluminum than to other metals because it is the most "continuous" source of power.
In metals smelting, one needs several tons of coal (or its equivalent) to process one ton of metal, so access to power sources is more important than access to bauxite. Also, The Columbia River made it easy to ship bauxite to the mouth of the river, and then upstream.
Upvote:18
Aluminum manufacturing is very energy-intensive and requires large amounts of electricity, which the other comments have covered.
Washington State and the Pacific Northwest has an abundance of inexpensive electricity due to the large-scale hydro-electric power projects installed from the 1930s through the 1970s. Examples include the Grand Coulee Dam, Chief Joseph Dam, Rocky Reach Dam, and more. Today the power distribution is covered by the Bonneville Power Administration, which distributes its generation to the local utilities.
As these major electrical producers came on line with relatively abundant and cheap electricity, it spurred aluminum refineries to be built in the area, which then fed refined aluminum to the local aircraft industries during and after WWII. The Seattle area had very significant activity in aircraft production (Boeing) and ship-building (numerous shipyards) during WWII. Aluminum refineries were also located in Spokane (Kaiser).
One could argue that this helped set up a technology, semiconductor and later software base in Washington, as each industry led to the other.
A side benefit is that the dam projects also irrigate central Washington, turning this desert area into highly productive farmland. This is called the Columbia Basin Project.
Upvote:46
Aluminium refining requires huge amounts of electricity so plants are often sited close to things like hydroelectric dams or abundant supplies of coal or natural gas. Bauxite (aluminium ore) needs to be refined by electrolysis so it is very good way to make use of surplus off-peak high output electrical power and the costs of shipping the ore to the plant are trivial compared to the energy requirements to refine it.
Aluminium smelting is fairly unusual in that it specifically requires electricity rather than generic fuel such as coke and this is the main reason why it was so difficult and expensive to produce before the advent of high capacity electrical power generation.
This article suggests that Washington state does indeed have abundant hydro-electric power.
More post
- 📝 Why did the San Marco Marine Brigade adopt the winged lion of Venice?
- 📝 Which college president nearly finished a book in 1914 that argued that there would be no more wars?
- 📝 When did last names start being used, and who introduced the concept?
- 📝 Why is the storming of the Bastille considered the start of revolution, and not the storming of the Hôtel des Invalides?
- 📝 Of which countries was Ludwig von Mises a citizen?
- 📝 What were the divisions of the city of Paris between the 12th and 13th centuries?
- 📝 What Happened To Men In the Soviet Union?
- 📝 Where did Metternich say the Balkans began?
- 📝 What were the first local currency systems in history?
- 📝 Which fortress east of Ancient Megiddo did Thutmose III go to during the siege?
- 📝 Was Casablanca a "safe" place for the Allies to hold a global conference in January, 1943?
- 📝 Why did North America economically prosper, and maintain stable government and South/Central America didn't?
- 📝 Were there any natural disasters that decisively changed the result of a later election by killing the electorate of one side?
- 📝 Did Ancient Romans use metal thimbles? What were they like?
- 📝 When did the Nuu-Chah-Nulth stop whaling?
- 📝 Who first published Marcus Aurelius' Meditations?
- 📝 Why is this hat identified as the Byzantine Imperial kamelaukion?
- 📝 The Constitution of the United States: Background material for the original, esp. the Bill of Rights?
- 📝 How did the Romans mint coins?
- 📝 If the Ch’in dynasty was so short-lived, why was China named for it?
- 📝 Why did General Billy Mitchell regard war with Japan as inevitable as early as 1912?
- 📝 Why is Nouruz celebrated all over the Turkic states of the former Soviet Union, but not in Turkey?
- 📝 Who are the people on the cover of James Joll's Europe since 1870?
- 📝 What was the currency in use in Palestine shortly before and during WWI?
- 📝 What was the official language used across European monarchies in the XII century?
- 📝 What was Libya's form of direct democracy (Jamahiria) like in practice?
- 📝 Has there been a recorded account of a cabin boy inspiring mutiny on board a ship?
- 📝 Help identifying an old bayonet
- 📝 What is the best book to learn about medicine in medieval times? (research for a novel)
- 📝 Has the USA ever taken unilateral military action?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Why was Washington State an attractive site for aluminum production during World War II?
- 📝 Why was Hanford, Washington, selected during World War II as the site of America’s first nuclear energy plant?
- 📝 Why was Switzerland not attacked during the two World Wars?
- 📝 During World War I, why were church bells stopped until the war was over?
- 📝 What was the estimated malaria death toll for US Forces during World War II?
- 📝 Why was Seattle chosen for the site of Expo 62?
- 📝 Why was France granted an equal status among victors of World War II?
- 📝 Why didn't Imperial Japan attack the Soviet Union during World War 2?
- 📝 Why didn’t Japan attack the West Coast of the United States during World War II?
- 📝 Why was Spanish Fascist dictatorship left in power after World War II?
- 📝 Why were there no internment camps for German-American citizens in USA during WW2?
- 📝 Why was it "acceptable" for Prince Charles to marry a divorced woman, when Edward VIII had to abdicate for marrying divorcee Wallis Simpson?
- 📝 Why was World War I ended on Nov 11 11:00, rather than immediately upon signing the armistice?
- 📝 During the breakup of the Soviet Union, on what basis was citizenship granted or withheld for each of the fifteen new republics?
- 📝 What was the reason for Soviet troops to withdraw from Yugoslavia in World War II?
- 📝 Why was there a surge in the US incarceration rate during the 1990s?
- 📝 Why was no Nobel Prize for Literature awarded in 1935?
- 📝 If the Ch’in dynasty was so short-lived, why was China named for it?
- 📝 Why does the US use the opposite convention to the rest of the world for colour-coding harbour buoys?
- 📝 What was the strategy to protect the British Museum during the World Wars?
- 📝 Why was the area now known as Liberia chosen as the location for repatriation of African slaves in the US?
- 📝 Why was there lack of food during WW2 in the UK?
- 📝 Why was the Western Front so static in World War I?
- 📝 "More Frenchmen bore arms for the Axis than for the Allies during the Second World War"?
- 📝 Why was the Cold War carried out over the whole world instead of between Siberia and Alaska?
- 📝 What was the liquor that was based on petrol which was produced in the USSR during the Second World War?
- 📝 If modern human existed for hundreds of thousands years why was writing invented only some 7000-9000 years ago?
- 📝 How was beer production affected by the war during WW2?
- 📝 Why was gold so popular and valuable back when it did not have many real world uses?
- 📝 Why did it take so long for the Germans to develop the first tank model in World War I?
