Orondo, Washington — Where Irrigation Draws the Green Line

Orondo offers one of central Washington's clearest demonstrations of what irrigation actually does.

The hills above the Columbia are dry enough that uncultivated ground stays brown through much of summer. Where water reaches selected benches and slopes, orchards turn them abruptly green. Apples, cherries and other tree fruit support packing, trucking and seasonal work.

U.S. 97 carries travelers through the district between Wenatchee and Lake Chelan, but much of Orondo remains dispersed among farms and rural homes rather than gathered around a downtown.

The contrast is more useful than any monument. In Orondo, you can often see exactly where the water goes.