Electron is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

in Pierce County in the state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, US. Electron sits along the

Puyallup River The Puyallup River ( ) is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. About long, it is formed by glaciers on the west side of Mount Rainier. It flows generally northwest, emptying into Commencement Bay, part of Puget Sound. The river and its tribu ...

just northeast of

Lake Kapowsin Lake Kapowsin is a lake in Pierce County, Washington, about halfway between Tacoma on Puget Sound, and Mount Rainier in the Cascade Mountains. The lake is long and wide, lying in a channel formed by meltwater from the Puget lobe of the Vashon ...

and is the site of the

Electron Hydroelectric Project The Electron Hydroelectric Project, originally known as the Puyallup Project, is a hydroelectric power plant operated by Electron Hydro LLC on the Puyallup River in Pierce County, Washington. It generates of electricity and is operated and ...

, a

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

operated by

Puget Power Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is an energy utility company based in the U.S. state of Washington that provides electrical power and natural gas to the Puget Sound region. The utility serves electricity to more than 1.1 million customers in Island, ...

. Above the plant, 10.1 miles upriver, is the Electron Diversionary Dam, which runs water to the power plant via a wooden

flume A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to ...

. The dam and power plant project was constructed in 1903-04 and began operation on April 12, 1904. Electron was the site of a CCC camp in the 1930s. A

mudslide A mudflow or mud flow is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/second. Mudflows contain a signific ...

destroyed the original powerhouse in 1936; rebuilding was partially completed in 1937 and fully rehabilitated in 1941. There is a small town park in Electron.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Pierce County, Washington Census-designated places in Washington (state)