Marcus

History

Marcus was named for Marcus Oppenheimer who settled in the area in 1863. Marcus was a supply and transportation base for northward-bound travellers during the Big Bend Gold Rush of the 1860s in the Colony of British Columbia due to its location just above Kettle Falls, a wall to river navigation. In 1865 the steamboat Forty-Nine was built at Marcus to attempt the run to the goldrush boomtown of La Porte at the foot of the infamous Dalles des Morts or "Death Rapids", which were located in the immediate vicinity of the rush and were the upper barrier to river navigation. Regular service from Marcus to La Porte did not begin until 1866 due to difficult winter conditions at the Narrows of the Arrow Lakes on the first attempt in 1865. Marcus was officially incorporated on October 18, 1910. The original townsite was submerged beneath the waters of Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake when Grand Coulee Dam was built.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land. This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Marcus has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Red-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta canadensis Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,428
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,350
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,287
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,066
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  953
• Mountain Chickadee

  Poecile gambeli (Ridgway, 1886) · Aves
  891
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  873
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  764

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2015-10-17
  14 km N of Nespelem Community, Washington
• M 4.15 — 2015-09-01
  15 km N of Nespelem Community, Washington
• M 2.6 — 2011-12-04
  6 km W of Ione, Washington
• M 2.7 — 2004-12-12
  20 km NNE of Reardan, Washington
• M 2.7 — 2004-05-15
  4 km NNW of Grand Forks, Canada
• M 2.5 — 2003-12-28
  10 km ENE of Deer Park, Washington