Columbia River

Columbia River
Columbia River
Aerial view of a large river winding through a mountainous gorge. It passes over a dam stretching in four segments from bank to bank across three intervening islands. Highways, passing by clusters of buildings here and there on both banks, run parallel to the river. Whitewater and foam curl downriver from one of the central segments.
Bonneville Dam, in the Columbia River Gorge
Name origin: Captain Robert Gray's ship, Columbia Rediviva
Nickname: Big River, the River of the West, River Oregon[1]
Countries  United States,  Canada
States  Washington,  Oregon
Province  British Columbia
Tributaries
 - left Spillimacheen River, Beaver River, Illecillewaet River, Incomappleux River, Kootenay River, Pend Oreille River, Spokane River, Snake River, John Day River, Deschutes River, Willamette River
 - right Kicking Horse River, Blaeberry River, Canoe River, Kettle River, Sanpoil River, Okanogan River, Wenatchee River, Yakima River, Lewis River, Kalama River, Cowlitz River
Cities Revelstoke, BC, Tri-Cities, WA, Portland, OR, Vancouver, WA, Longview, WA
Source Columbia Lake
 - location British Columbia, Canada
 - elevation 2,690 ft (820 m) [2]
 - coordinates 50°13′N 115°51′W / 50.217°N 115.85°W / 50.217; -115.85 [3]
Mouth Pacific Ocean, at Clatsop County, Oregon / Pacific County, Washington
 - elevation 0 ft (0 m)
 - coordinates 46°14′39″N 124°3′29″W / 46.24417°N 124.05806°W / 46.24417; -124.05806 [4]
Length 1,243 mi (2,000 km) [5]
Basin 258,000 sq mi (668,000 km2)
Discharge for mouth (average); max and min at The Dalles, Oregon, 188.9 miles (304.0 km) from the mouth
 - average 265,000 cu ft/s (7,500 m3/s) [6][7][8]
 - max 1,240,000 cu ft/s (35,100 m3/s)
 - min 12,100 cu ft/s (300 m3/s)
Three-color map of the Columbia River watershed. The watershed is shaped roughly like a funnel with its wide end to the east and its narrow end along the border between Washington and Oregon as it nears the Pacific Ocean. The watershed extends into the western U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana, and the western Canadian province of British Columbia as far east as its border with Alberta. The river itself makes a hairpin turn from north-west to south in British Columbia and another sharp turn from south to west as it nears Oregon.
Columbia River drainage basin

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America.[9] The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state of Oregon before emptying into the Pacific Ocean. The river is 1,243 miles (2,000 km) long, and its largest tributary is the Snake River. Its drainage basin is roughly the size of France and extends into seven U.S. states and a Canadian province.

By volume, the Columbia is the fourth-largest river in the U.S., and it has the greatest flow of any North American river draining into the Pacific. The river's heavy flow and its relatively steep gradient give it tremendous potential for the generation of electricity. The 14 hydroelectric dams on the Columbia's main stem and many more on its tributaries produce more hydroelectric power than those of any other North American river.

The Columbia and its tributaries have been central to the region's culture and economy for thousands of years. They have been used for transportation since ancient times, linking the many cultural groups of the region. The river system hosts many species of anadromous fish, which migrate between freshwater habitats and the saline Pacific Ocean. These fish—especially the salmon species—provided the core subsistence for natives; in past centuries, traders from across western North America traveled to the Columbia to trade for fish.

In the late 18th century, a private American ship became the first non-indigenous vessel to enter the river; it was followed by a British explorer, who navigated past the Oregon Coast Range into the Willamette Valley. In the following decades, fur trading companies used the Columbia as a key transportation route. Overland explorers entered the Willamette Valley through the scenic but treacherous Columbia River Gorge, and pioneers began to settle the valley in increasing numbers, following both routes to enter it. Steamships along the river linked communities and facilitated trade; the arrival of railroads in the late 19th century, many running along the river, supplemented these links.

Since the late 19th century, public and private sectors have heavily developed the river. The development, commonly referred to as taming or harnessing of the river, has been massive and multi-faceted. To aid ship and barge navigation, locks have been built along the lower Columbia and its tributaries, and dredging has opened, maintained, and enlarged shipping channels. Since the early 20th century, dams have been built across the river for the purposes of power generation, navigation, irrigation, and flood control. Today, a dam-impounded reservoir lies along nearly every U.S. mile of the once free-flowing river, and much of the Canadian stretch has been impounded as well. Production of nuclear power has taken place at two sites along the river. Plutonium for nuclear weapons was produced for decades at the Hanford Site, which is now the most contaminated nuclear site in the U.S. All these developments have had a tremendous impact on river environments, perhaps most notably through industrial pollution and barriers to fish migration.

Contents

Course

The Columbia begins its 1,243-mile (2,000 km) journey in the southern Rocky Mountain Trench in British Columbia (BC). Columbia Lake – 2,690 feet (820 m) above sea level – and the adjoining Columbia Wetlands form the river's headwaters. The trench is a broad, deep, and long glacial valley between the Canadian Rockies and the Columbia Mountains in BC. For its first 200 miles (320 km), the Columbia flows northwest along the trench through Windermere Lake and the town of Invermere, a region known in BC as the Columbia Valley, then northwest to Golden and into Kinbasket Lake. Rounding the northern end of the Selkirk Mountains, the river turns sharply south through a region known as the Big Bend Country, passing through Revelstoke Lake and the Arrow Lakes. Revelstoke, the Big Bend, and the Columbia Valley combined are referred to in BC parlance as the Columbia Country. Below the Arrow Lakes, the Columbia passes the cities of Castlegar, located at the Columbia's confluence with the Kootenay River, and Trail, two major population centers of the West Kootenay region. The Pend Oreille River joins the Columbia about 2 miles (3 km) north of the U.S.–Canada border.[10]

Modified satellite view of the Columbia River watershed showing the course of the river in red from Columbia Lake in British Columbia, Canada, to Astoria, Oregon, in the United States. The maps shows that the river, although flowing on average in a southwesterly direction from source to mouth, changes direction sharply from northwest to south at Big Bend in Canada, from south to west near Grand Coulee Dam in Washington, from west to south near Wenatchee, Washington, and from south to west near the Tri-Cities area in Washington.
Course of the Columbia River

The Columbia enters eastern Washington flowing south and turning to the west at the Spokane River confluence. It marks the southern and eastern borders of the Colville Indian Reservation and the western border of the Spokane Indian Reservation.[11] The river turns south after the Okanogan River confluence, then southeasterly near the confluence with the Wenatchee River in central Washington. This C-shaped segment of the river is also known as the "Big Bend". During the Missoula Floods 10,000 to 15,000 years ago, much of the floodwater took a more direct route south, forming the ancient river bed known as the Grand Coulee. After the floods, the river found its present course, and the Grand Coulee was left dry. The construction of the Grand Coulee Dam in the mid-20th century impounded the river, forming Lake Roosevelt, from which water was pumped into the dry coulee, forming the reservoir of Banks Lake.[12]

The river flows past The Gorge Amphitheatre, a prominent concert venue in the Northwest, then through Priest Rapids Dam, and then through the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Entirely within the reservation is Hanford Reach, the only U.S. stretch of the river that is completely free-flowing, unimpeded by dams and not a tidal estuary. The Snake River and Yakima River join the Columbia in the Tri-Cities population center. The Columbia makes a sharp bend to the west at the Washington–Oregon border. The river defines that border for the final 309 miles (497 km) of its journey.[13]

The Columbia River Gorge, facing east toward Beacon Rock

The Deschutes River joins the Columbia near The Dalles. Between The Dalles and Portland, the river cuts through the Cascade Range, forming the dramatic Columbia River Gorge. No other river except for the Klamath completely breaches the Cascades—the other rivers that flow through the range also originate in or very near the mountains. The headwaters and upper course of the Pit River flows through much of the Cascades; in contrast the Columbia cuts through the range nearly a thousand miles from its source in the Rocky Mountains. The gorge is known for its strong and steady winds, scenic beauty, and its role as an important transportation link.[14] The river continues west, bending sharply to the north-northwest near Portland and Vancouver, Washington, at the Willamette River confluence. Here the river slows considerably, dropping sediment that might otherwise form a river delta. Near Longview, Washington and the Cowlitz River confluence, the river turns west again. The Columbia empties into the Pacific Ocean just west of Astoria, Oregon, over the Columbia Bar, a shifting sandbar that makes the river's mouth one of the most hazardous stretches of water to navigate in the world.[15]

The Columbia drains an area of about 258,000 square miles (670,000 km2).[6] Its drainage basin covers nearly all of Idaho, large portions of British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington, and small portions of Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada; the total area is similar to the size of France. Roughly 745 miles (1,200 km) of the river's length and 85 percent of its drainage basin are in the U.S.[16] The Columbia is the twelfth-longest river and has the sixth-largest drainage basin in the U.S.[6] In Canada, where the Columbia flows for 498 miles (801 km) and drains 39,700 square miles (103,000 km2), the river ranks 23rd in length,[17] and its basin ranks 13th in size.[18] The Columbia shares its name with nearby places, such as British Columbia, as well as with landforms and bodies of water.

Discharge

With an average flow at the mouth of about 265,000 cubic feet per second (7,500 m3/s),[6] the Columbia is the largest river by volume flowing into the Pacific from North America[19] and is the fourth-largest by volume in the U.S.[6] The average flow where the river crosses the international boundary between Canada and the U.S. is 99,000 cubic feet per second (2,800 m3/s) from a drainage basin of 39,700 square miles (103,000 km2).[20] This amounts to about 15 percent of the entire Columbia watershed. The Columbia's highest recorded flow, measured at The Dalles, was 1,240,000 cubic feet per second (35,000 m3/s) in June 1894, before the river was dammed.[21] The lowest flow recorded at The Dalles was 12,100 cubic feet per second (340 m3/s) on April 16, 1968, and was caused by the initial closure of the John Day Dam, 28 miles (45 km) upstream.[21] The Dalles is about 190 miles (310 km) from the mouth; the river at this point drains about 237,000 square miles (610,000 km2) or about 91 percent of the total watershed.[21] Flow rates on the Columbia are affected by many large upstream reservoirs, many diversions for irrigation, and, on the lower stretches, reverse flow from the tides of the Pacific Ocean. The National Weather Service issues tide forecasts for eight places along the river between Astoria and the base of Bonneville Dam.[22]

Geology

Reddish-brown terrain and many small green bushes surround a lake. Truncated ridges of dark rock run across the terrain parallel to the horizon and to each other beneath a blue sky.
Drumheller Channels, part of the Channeled Scablands formed by the Missoula Floods
See also: Geology of the Pacific Northwest and Missoula Floods

When the rifting of Pangea, due to the process of plate tectonics, pushed North America away from Europe and Africa and into the Panthalassic Ocean (ancestor to the modern Pacific Ocean), the Pacific Northwest was not part of the continent. As the North American continent moved westward, the Farallon Plate subducted under its western margin. As the plate subducted, it carried along island arcs which were accreted to the North American continent, resulting in the creation of the Pacific Northwest between 150 and 90 million years ago.[23] The general outline of the Columbia Basin was not complete until between 60 and 40 million years ago, but it lay under a large inland sea later subject to uplift.[24] Between 40 and 20 million years ago, in the Eocene and Miocene eras, tremendous volcanic eruptions frequently modified much of the landscape traversed by the Columbia.[25] The lower reaches of the ancestral river passed through a valley near where Mount Hood later arose. Carrying sediments from erosion and erupting volcanoes, it built a 2-mile (3.2 km) thick delta that underlies the foothills on the east side of the Coast Range near Vernonia in northwestern Oregon.[26] Between 17 million and 6 million years ago, huge outpourings of flood basalt lava covered the Columbia River Plateau and forced the lower Columbia into its present course.[27] The Cascade Range began to uplift during the early Pleistocene era (two million to 700,000 years ago). Cutting through the uplifting mountains, the Columbia River created the Columbia River Gorge.[25]

The river and its drainage basin experienced some of the world's greatest known catastrophic floods toward the end of the last ice age. The periodic rupturing of ice dams at Glacial Lake Missoula resulted in the Missoula Floods, with discharges 10 times the combined flow of all the rivers of the world, dozens of times over thousands of years.[28] The exact number of floods is unknown, but geologists have documented at least 40; evidence suggests that they occurred between about 19,000 and 13,000 years ago.[29]

A wide river curves gently at the base of a mountain range. A meadow in the foreground gives way to an evergreen forest and then to the river. In the background, a layer of thin clouds veils a blue sky.
Panoramic view of Columbia River Gorge from Dog Mountain in Washington

The floodwaters rushed across eastern Washington, creating the channeled scablands, which are a complex network of dry canyon-like channels, or coulees that are often braided and sharply gouged into the basalt rock underlying the region's deep topsoil. Numerous flat-topped buttes with rich soil stand high above the chaotic scablands.[27][30] Constrictions at several places caused the floodwaters to pool into large temporary lakes, such as Lake Lewis, in which sediments were deposited. Water depths have been estimated at 1,250 feet (380 m) at Wallula Gap, 830 feet (250 m) at Bonneville Dam, and 400 feet (120 m) over modern Portland, Oregon.[31] Sediments were also deposited when the floodwaters slowed in the broad flats of the Quincy, Othello, and Pasco Basins.[30] The floods' periodic inundation of the lower Columbia River Plateau deposited rich sediments; 21st-century farmers in the Willamette Valley "plow fields of fertile Montana soil and clays from Washington's Palouse".[32]

Over the last several thousand years a series of large landslides have occurred on the north side of the Columbia River Gorge, sending massive amounts of debris south from Table Mountain and Greenleaf Peak into the gorge near the present site of Bonneville Dam. The most recent and significant is known as the Bonneville Slide, which formed a massive earthen dam, filling 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of the river's length.[33][34] Various studies have placed the date of the Bonneville Slide anywhere between 1060 and 1760 AD; the idea that the landslide debris present today was formed by more than one slide is relatively recent and may explain the large range of estimates.[34] It has been suggested that if the later dates are accurate there may be a link with the 1700 Cascadia earthquake.[34][35] The pile of debris resulting from the Bonneville Slide blocked the river until rising water finally washed away the sediment. It is not known how long it took the river to break through the barrier; estimates range from several months to several years.[36] Much of the landslide's debris remained, forcing the river about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of its previous channel and forming the Cascade Rapids.[37] In 1938, the construction of Bonneville Dam inundated the rapids as well as the remaining trees that could be used to refine the estimated date of the landslide.[37][38]

In 1980, the eruption of Mount St. Helens deposited large amounts of sediment in the lower Columbia, temporarily reducing the depth of the shipping channel by 26 feet (7.9 m).[39]

Indigenous peoples

Profile of the head and torso of a dignified man of about age 60. He wears a headpiece featuring many long white feathers with black tips. His shirt or upper garment is dark, though its sleeves are white. Decorative parallel ovals of a white material extend down the front of this garment from neck to midriff.
Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce people

Humans have inhabited the Columbia's watershed for more than 15,000 years, with a transition to a sedentary lifestyle based mainly on salmon starting about 3,500 years ago.[40] In 1962, archaeologists found evidence of human activity dating back 11,230 years at the Marmes Rockshelter, near the confluence of the Palouse and Snake rivers in eastern Washington. In 1996, the skeletal remains of a 9,000-year-old prehistoric man (dubbed Kennewick Man) were found near Kennewick, Washington. The discovery rekindled debate in the scientific community over the origins of human habitation in North America and sparked a protracted controversy over whether the scientific or Native American community was entitled to possess and/or study the remains.[41]

Many different Native Americans and First Nations peoples have a historical and continuing presence on the Columbia. The Sinixt or Lakes people lived on the lower stretch of the Canadian portion (also claimed as part of Okanagan territory) the Secwepemc, Ktunaxa and at one time the Blackfoot on the upper; the Colville, Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, Yakama, Nez Perce, Cayuse, Palus, Umatilla, Cowlitz, and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs live along the U.S. stretch. Along the upper Snake River and Salmon River, the Shoshone Bannock tribes are present. The Chinook tribe, which is not federally recognized, also live near the lower Columbia River. The river is known as Wimahl to the Chinook-speaking natives of its lower reaches,[42] and Nch’i-Wàna to the Sahaptin-speaking peoples of its middle course in present-day Washington;[43] both terms essentially mean "the big river".

Oral histories describe the formation and destruction of the Bridge of the Gods, a land bridge that connected the Oregon and Washington sides of the river in the Columbia River Gorge. The bridge, which aligns with geological records of the Bonneville Slide, was described in some stories as the result of a battle between gods, represented by Mount Adams and Mount Hood, in their competition for the affection of a goddess, represented by Mount St. Helens.[44] Native American stories about the bridge differ in their details but agree in general that the bridge permitted increased interaction between tribes on the north and south sides of the river.[45][46]

Horses, originally acquired from Spanish New Mexico, spread widely via native trade networks, reaching the Shoshone of the Snake River Plain by 1700. The Nez Perce, Cayuse, and Flathead people acquired their first horses around 1730.[47][48] Along with horses came aspects of the emerging plains culture, such as equestrian and horse training skills, greatly increased mobility, hunting efficiency, trade over long distances, intensified warfare, the linking of wealth and prestige to horses and war, and the rise of large and powerful tribal confederacies. The Nez Perce and Cayuse kept large herds and made annual long-distance trips to the Great Plains for bison hunting, adopted the plains culture to a significant degree, and became the main conduit through which horses and the plains culture diffused into the Columbia River region. Other peoples acquired horses and aspects of the plains culture unevenly. The Yakama, Umatilla, Palus, Spokane, and Coeur d'Alene maintained sizable herds of horses and adopted some of the plains cultural characteristics, but fishing and fish-related economies remained important. Less affected groups included the Molala, Klickitat, Wenatchi, Okanagan, and Sinkiuse-Columbia peoples, who owned small numbers of horses and adopted few plains culture features. Some groups remained essentially unaffected, such as the Sanpoil and Nespelem people, whose culture remained centered on fishing.[47]

Natives of the region encountered foreigners at several times and places during the 18th and 19th centuries. European and American vessels explored the coastal area around the mouth of the river in the late 18th century, trading with local natives. The contact would prove devastating to the Indian tribes; a large portion of their population was wiped out by a smallpox epidemic. Canadian explorer Alexander Mackenzie crossed what is now interior British Columbia in 1793.[48] In 1805–07, the Lewis and Clark Expedition entered the Oregon Country along the Clearwater and Snake Rivers, and encountered numerous small settlements of natives. Their records recount tales of hospitable traders who were not above stealing small items from the visitors. They also noted brass teakettles, a British musket, and other artifacts that had been obtained in trade with coastal tribes.[49] From the earliest contact with westerners, the natives of the mid- and lower Columbia were not tribal, but instead congregated in social units no larger than a village, and more often at a family level; these units would shift with the season as people moved about, following the salmon catch up and down the river's tributaries.[50]

Sparked by the 1848 Whitman Massacre, a number of violent battles were fought between American settlers and the region's natives.[51] The subsequent Indian Wars, notably the Yakima War, decimated the native population and removed much land from native control.[52] As years progressed, the right of natives to fish along the Columbia became the central issue of contention with the states, commercial fishers, and private property owners. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld fishing rights in landmark cases in 1905 and 1918.[53]

Four men dressed in long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and hats are perched on platforms on both sides of a rushing stream. Three of the men are standing, and one is seated. Each man holds one end of a long pole with a net, dipped in the water, attached to the other end. Several people without poles are watching or waiting nearby.
Dipnet fishing at Celilo Falls, 1941

Fish were central to the culture of the region's natives, both as sustenance and as part of their religious beliefs.[54] Natives drew fish from the Columbia at several major sites, which also served as trading posts. Celilo Falls, located east of the modern city of The Dalles, was a vital hub for trade and the interaction of different cultural groups,[50] being used for fishing and trading for 11,000 years. Prior to contact with westerners, villages along this 9-mile (14 km) stretch may have at times had a population as great as 10,000.[55] The site drew traders from as far away as the Great Plains.[56] The Cascades Rapids of the Columbia River Gorge, and Kettle Falls and Priest Rapids in eastern Washington, were also major fishing and trading sites.[57][58]

In prehistoric times the Columbia's salmon and steelhead runs numbered an estimated annual average of 10 to 16 million fish. In comparison, the largest run since 1938 was in 1986, with 3.2 million fish entering the Columbia.[59] The annual catch by natives has been estimated at 42 million pounds (19,000 t).[60] The most important and productive native fishing site was located at Celilo Falls, which was perhaps the most productive inland fishing site in North America.[61] The falls were located at the border between Chinookan- and Sahaptian-speaking peoples and served as the center of an extensive trading network across the Pacific Plateau.[62] Celilo was the oldest continuously inhabited community on the North American continent.[63]

Salmon canneries established by white settlers beginning in 1867 had a strong negative impact on the salmon population, and in 1908 U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt observed that the salmon runs were but a fraction of what they had been 25 years prior.[64] Still, in the 1930s, there were natives who lived along the river and fished year round, moving along with the fish's migration patterns throughout the seasons.[65]

As river development continued in the 20th century, each of these major fishing sites was flooded by a dam, beginning with Cascades Rapids in 1938. The development was accompanied by extensive negotiations between natives and U.S. government agencies. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, a coalition of various tribes, adopted a constitution and incorporated after the 1938 completion of the Bonneville Dam flooded Cascades Rapids;[64] the Yakama were slower to do so, organizing a formal government in 1944.[66] Today, the Yakama, Nez Perce, Umatilla, and Warm Springs tribes all have treaty fishing rights along the Columbia and its tributaries.[60]

In 1957 Celilo Falls was submerged by the construction of The Dalles Dam, and the native fishing community was displaced.[63] The affected tribes received a $26.8 million settlement for the loss of Celilo and other fishing sites submerged by The Dalles Dam.[67] The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs used part of its $4 million settlement to establish the Kah-Nee-Ta resort south of Mount Hood.[64]

New waves of explorers

See also: History of Oregon, History of British Columbia, History of Washington (U.S. state), Oregon Country, and History of the west coast of North America
Artist's rendering of a tall, narrow waterfall cascading down a series of vertical or nearly vertical rock faces into a big river. Mountains, largely devoid of vegetation, rise on both sides of the waterfall and connect to a range of mountains in the background.
Multnomah Falls, painted by James W. Alden, 1857

Some historians believe that Japanese or Chinese vessels blown off course reached the Northwest Coast long before Europeans, possibly as early as 219 B.C.[68] It is unknown whether they landed near the Columbia. Evidence exists that Spanish castaways reached the shore in 1679 and traded with the Clatsop; if these were indeed the first Europeans to see the Columbia, they failed to send word home to Spain.[69]

In the 18th century, there was strong interest in discovering a Northwest Passage that would permit navigation between the Atlantic (or inland North America) and the Pacific Ocean. Many ships in the area, especially those under Spanish and British command, searched the northwest coast for a large river that might connect to Hudson Bay or the Missouri River. The first documented European discovery of the Columbia River was that of Bruno de Heceta, who in 1775 sighted the river's mouth. On the advice of his officers, he did not explore it, as he was short-staffed and the current was strong. He considered it a bay, and called it Ensenada de Asunción. Later Spanish maps based on his discovery showed a river, labeled Rio de San Roque,[42] or an entrance, called Entrada de Hezeta.[69] Following Heceta's reports, British maritime fur trader Captain John Meares searched for the river in 1788 but concluded that it did not exist.[70] He named Cape Disappointment for the non-existent river, not realizing the cape marks the northern edge of the river's mouth.[71]

What happened next would form the basis for decades of both cooperation and dispute between British and American exploration of, and ownership claim to, the region. Royal Navy commander George Vancouver sailed past the mouth in April 1792 and observed a change in the water's color, but he accepted Meares' report and continued on his journey northward.[42] Later that month, Vancouver encountered the American captain Robert Gray at the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Gray reported that he had seen the entrance to the Columbia and had spent nine days trying but failing to enter.[72]

On May 12, 1792, Gray returned south and crossed the Columbia Bar, becoming the first explorer to enter the river. Gray's fur trading mission had been financed by Boston merchants, who outfitted him with a private vessel named Columbia Rediviva; he named the river after the ship on May 18.[69][73] Gray spent nine days trading near the mouth of the Columbia, then left without having gone beyond 13 miles (21 km) upstream. The farthest point reached was Grays Bay at the mouth of Grays River.[74] Gray's discovery of the Columbia River was later used by the United States to support its claim to the Oregon Country, which was also claimed by Russia, Great Britain, Spain and other nations.[75]

In October 1792, Vancouver sent Lieutenant William Robert Broughton, his second-in-command, up the river. Broughton got as far as the Sandy River at the western end of the Columbia River Gorge, about 100 miles (160 km) upstream, sighting and naming Mount Hood. Broughton formally claimed the river, its drainage basin, and the nearby coast for Britain. In contrast, Gray had not made any formal claims on behalf of the United States.[76][77]

Painting of a big river in the foreground flowing out of mountains in the background. Evergreen trees line both banks of the river. A large spire of rock rises in the middle distance along the left bank.
Columbia River, Cascade Mountains, Oregon, (1876) by Vincent Colyer (oil on canvas). Beacon Rock is visible on the left.
Early grayscale map of the lower Columbia River and its tributaries and surrounds showing the locations of mountain ranges and Indian villages from what is now eastern Washington to the Pacific Ocean.
Detail from the Lewis and Clark expedition map. The Willamette River is shown as the "Multnomah", while the Snake River is "Lewis's River". (See complete map.)

Because the Columbia was at the same latitude as the headwaters of the Missouri River, there was some speculation that Gray and Vancouver had discovered the long-sought Northwest Passage. A 1798 British map showed a dotted line connecting the Columbia with the Missouri.[69] However, when the American explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark charted the vast, unmapped lands of the American West in their overland expedition (1803–05), they found no passage between the rivers. After crossing the Rocky Mountains, Lewis and Clark built dugout canoes and paddled down the Snake River, reaching the Columbia near the present-day Tri-Cities, Washington. They explored a few miles upriver, as far as Bateman Island, before heading down the Columbia, concluding their journey at the river's mouth and establishing Fort Clatsop, a short-lived establishment that was occupied for less than three months.[69]

Canadian explorer David Thompson, of the North West Company, spent the winter of 1807–08 at Kootenae House near the source of the Columbia at present-day Invermere, British Columbia. Over the next few years he explored much of the river and its northern tributaries. In 1811, he traveled down the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, arriving at the mouth just after John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company had founded Astoria. On his return to the north, Thompson explored the one remaining part of the river he had not yet seen, becoming the first European-American to travel the entire length of the river.[69]

In 1825 the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) established Fort Vancouver on the bank of the Columbia, in what is now Vancouver, Washington, as the headquarters of the company's Columbia District, which encompassed everything west of the Rocky Mountains. John McLoughlin, a physician, was appointed Chief Factor of the Columbia District. The HBC reoriented its Columbia District operations toward the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia, which became the region's main trunk route.[78] In the early 1840s Americans began to colonize the Oregon country in large numbers via the Oregon Trail, despite the HBC's efforts to discourage American settlement in the region. For many the final leg of the journey involved travel down the lower Columbia River to Fort Vancouver.[79] This part of the Oregon Trail, from The Dalles to Fort Vancouver, was the trail's most treacherous stretch, which prompted the 1846 construction of the Barlow Road.[80]

In the Treaty of 1818 the United States and Britain agreed that both nations were to enjoy equal rights in Oregon Country for 10 years. By 1828, when the so-called "joint occupation" was renewed for an indefinite period, it seemed probable that the lower Columbia River would in time become the border. For years the Hudson's Bay Company successfully maintained control of the Columbia River and American attempts to gain a foothold were fended off. In the 1830s, however, American religious missions were established at several locations in the lower Columbia River region. And in the 1840s a mass migration of American settlers undermined British control. The Hudson's Bay Company tried to maintain dominance by shifting from the fur trade, which was in sharp decline, to exporting other goods such as salmon and lumber. Colonization schemes were attempted, but failed to match the scale of American settlement. Americans generally settled south of the Columbia, mainly in the Willamette Valley. The Hudson's Bay Company tried to establish settlements north of the river, but nearly all the British colonists moved south to the Willamette Valley. The hope that the British colonists might dilute the American flavor of the valley failed in the face of the overwhelming number of American settlers. These developments rekindled the issue of "joint occupation" and the boundary dispute. While some British interests, especially the Hudson's Bay Company, fought for a boundary along the Columbia River, the Oregon Treaty of 1846 set the boundary at the 49th parallel. The Columbia River did become the border between the U.S. territories of Oregon and Washington.[81] Oregon became a U.S. state in 1859, Washington in 1889.

By the turn of the 20th century, the difficulty of navigating the Columbia was seen as an impediment to the economic development of the Inland Empire region east of the Cascades.[82] The dredging and dam building that followed would permanently alter the river, disrupting its natural flow but also providing electricity, irrigation, navigability and other benefits to the region.

Navigation

See also: Steamboats of the Columbia River, Steamboats of the Columbia River, Wenatchee Reach, and Shipwrecks of the inland Columbia River
A long bridge crosses a huge river flowing into a vast body of water under a blue sky. The bridge begins in a settlement with streets, buildings, and wharfs along the river and extends out of sight toward a low hill on the far shore. The first part of the bridge has a superstructure and is high above the water but then the bridge gradually descends and continues out of sight not so far above the water.
The mouth of the Columbia is just past Astoria, Oregon; ships must navigate the treacherous Columbia Bar (near horizon, not visible in this picture) to enter or exit the river.
A river boat with more than a dozen windows along its visible side runs a set of rapids on a very large river. Smoke or steam rises from its smokestack and flows behind the boat parallel to the water. In the foreground, a crowd of 50 or people watch the boat from the rocky shore.
The sternwheeler Hassalo runs the Cascades Rapids, May 26, 1888, at a speed of almost 60 miles (97 km) per hour. The rapids are now submerged under the pool of the Bonneville Dam.
Three men in work clothes stand on an enormous raft of logs held together with cable chains. In the background, another three men work on a distant part of the raft, only part of which is visible. The pile of logs appears to be taller than any of the men.
Benson massive log raft containing an entire year's worth of logs from one timber camp heads downriver in 1906.

American captain Robert Gray and British captain George Vancouver, who explored the river in 1792, proved that it was possible to cross the Columbia Bar. Many of the challenges associated with that feat remain today; even with modern engineering alterations to the mouth of the river, the strong currents and shifting sandbar make it dangerous to pass between the river and the Pacific Ocean.[83]

The use of steamboats along the river, beginning with the British Beaver in 1836[84] and followed by American vessels in 1850,[85] contributed to the rapid settlement and economic development of the region.[86][87] Steamboats operated in several distinct stretches of the river: on its lower reaches, from the Pacific Ocean to Cascades Rapids; from the Cascades to Celilo Falls; from Celilo to the confluence with the Snake River; on the Wenatchee Reach of eastern Washington; on British Columbia's Arrow Lakes; and on tributaries like the Willamette, the Snake and Kootenay Lake. The boats, initially powered by burning wood, carried passengers and freight throughout the region for many years. Early railroads served to connect steamboat lines interrupted by waterfalls on the river's lower reaches.[88] In the 1880s, railroads maintained by companies such as the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company and the Shaver Transportation Company began to supplement steamboat operations as the major transportation links along the river.[88]

Opening the passage to Lewiston

As early as 1881, industrialists proposed altering the natural channel of the Columbia to improve navigation.[85] Changes to the river over the years have included the construction of jetties at the river's mouth, dredging, and the construction of canals and navigation locks. Today, ocean freighters can travel upriver as far as Portland and Vancouver, and barges can reach as far inland as Lewiston, Idaho.[16]

The shifting Columbia Bar makes passage between the river and the Pacific Ocean difficult and dangerous, and numerous rapids along the river hinder navigation. Jetties, first constructed in 1886,[85] extend the river's channel into the ocean. Strong currents and the shifting sandbar remain a threat to ships entering the river and necessitate continuous maintenance of the jetties.

In 1891 the Columbia was dredged to enhance shipping. The channel between the ocean and Portland and Vancouver was deepened from 17 feet (5.2 m) to 25 feet (7.6 m). The Columbian called for the channel to be deepened to 40 feet (12 m) as early as 1905, but that depth was not attained until 1976.[89]

Cascade Locks and Canal were first constructed in 1896 around the Cascades Rapids,[90] enabling boats to travel safely through the Columbia River Gorge.[91] The Celilo Canal, bypassing Celilo Falls, opened to river traffic in 1915.[92] In the mid-20th century, the construction of dams along the length of the river submerged the rapids beneath a series of reservoirs. An extensive system of locks allowed ships and barges to pass easily from one reservoir to the next. A navigation channel reaching to Lewiston, Idaho, along the Columbia and Snake Rivers, was completed in 1975.[85] One of the main commodities is wheat, mainly for export. More than 40 percent of all US wheat exports are barged on the Columbia River.[93]

The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens caused mudslides in the area, which reduced the Columbia's depth by 25 feet (7.6 m) for a 4-mile (6.4 km) stretch, disrupting Portland's economy.[94]

Deeper shipping channel

A large, almost rectangular black ship with a red hull creates a mild wake as it moves away from the shore into a very large river. Smoke rises above its decks, which are cluttered with antennas, mechanical fittings, and what appear to be self-contained rooms with multiple windows.
The Essayons, one of three Army Corps of Engineers dredges tasked with ongoing maintenance of the Columbia's shipping channel, began service in 1983.[95]

Efforts to maintain and improve the navigation channel have continued to the present day. In 1990, a new round of studies examined the possibility of further dredging on the lower Columbia. The plans were controversial from the start because of economic and environmental concerns.[96]

In 1999, Congress authorized deepening the channel between Portland and Astoria from 40 to 43 feet (12–13 m), which will make it possible for large container and grain ships to reach Portland and Vancouver.[97] However, the project has met opposition because of concerns about stirring up toxic sediment on the riverbed. Portland-based Northwest Environmental Advocates brought a lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers, but it was rejected by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in August 2006.[98] The project includes measures to mitigate environmental damage; for instance, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must restore 12 times the area of wetland damaged by the project.[97] In early 2006, the Corps spilled 50 US gallons (190 L) of hydraulic oil into the Columbia, drawing further criticism from environmental organizations.[99]

Work on the project began in 2005 and is expected to conclude in 2010. The project's cost is estimated at $150 million. The federal government is paying 65 percent, Oregon and Washington are paying $27 million each, and six local ports are also contributing to the cost.[97][100]

Dams: harnessing the river

Water flows down a stair-step aqueduct from the top of a large river dam to the bottom. The aqueduct makes two 90-degree turns to the left on the way down before reaching the river at the base of the dam.
Fish ladder at John Day Dam. This dam, frequently referred to as the "fish killer", and its reservoir form the deadliest stretch of the river for young salmon.[101][102]
A big river and a nearby highway wind through a gorge between parallel ridges. The hills on the left are largely brown and treeless, while the hills on the right are partly covered by evergreen trees and grasses. A small lake lies in the foreground between the highway and the river.
Dams on the Columbia have transformed the river into a series of slackwater pools, such as this one between Bonneville and The Dalles, as seen from Rowena Crest.
A large body of water, much longer than wide, lies at the base of mountains with vestiges of snow in their higher declivities. Vegetation is sparse. The mountains rise to meet a sky filled mostly with puffy white or gray clouds.
Kinbasket Lake, a reservoir on the Columbia River
See also: Hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River and Columbia River Treaty

In 1902, the United States Bureau of Reclamation was established to aid in the economic development of arid western states.[103] One of its major undertakings was building Grand Coulee Dam to provide irrigation for the 600 thousand acres (2,400 km2) of the Columbia Basin Project in central Washington.[104] With the onset of World War II, the focus of dam construction shifted to production of hydroelectricity. Irrigation efforts resumed after the war.

River development occurred within the structure of the 1909 International Boundary Waters Treaty between the U.S. and Canada. The United States Congress passed the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1925, which directed the Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Power Commission to explore the development of the nation's rivers. This prompted agencies to conduct the first formal financial analysis of hydroelectric development; the reports produced by various agencies were presented in House Document 308. Those reports, and subsequent related reports, are referred to as 308 Reports.[105]

In the late 1920s, political forces in the Northwestern United States generally favored private development of hydroelectric dams along the Columbia. But the overwhelming victories of gubernatorial candidate George W. Joseph in the 1930 Oregon Republican Party primary, and later his law partner Julius Meier, were understood to demonstrate strong public support for public ownership of dams.[106] In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill that enabled the construction of the Bonneville and Grand Coulee dams as public works projects. The legislation was attributed to the efforts of Oregon Senator Charles McNary, Washington Senator Clarence Dill, and Oregon Congressman Charles Martin, among others.[107]

In 1948 floods swept through the Columbia watershed, destroying Vanport, then the second largest city in Oregon, and impacting cities as far north as Trail, British Columbia.[108] The flooding prompted the United States Congress to pass the Flood Control Act of 1950, authorizing the federal development of additional dams and other flood control mechanisms. By that time, however, local communities had become wary of federal hydroelectric projects, and sought local control of new developments; a Public Utility District in Grant County, Washington ultimately began construction of the dam at Priest Rapids.[109]

In the 1960s, the United States and Canada signed the Columbia River Treaty, which focused on flood control and the maximization of downstream power generation.[105] Canada agreed to build dams and provide reservoir storage, and the U.S. agreed to deliver to Canada one-half of the increase in U.S. downstream power benefits as estimated five years in advance.[110] Canada's obligation was met by building three dams (two on the Columbia, and one on the Duncan River), the last of which was completed in 1973.[111]

Today the main stem of the Columbia River has 14 dams, of which three are in Canada and 11 in the U.S. Four mainstem dams and four lower Snake River dams contain navigation locks to allow ship and barge passage from the ocean as far as Lewiston, Idaho. The river system as a whole has more than 400 dams for hydroelectricity and irrigation.[16] The dams address a variety of demands, including flood control, navigation, stream flow regulation, storage and delivery of stored waters, reclamation of public lands and Indian reservations, and the generation of hydroelectric power.[112]

This river may have been shaped by God, or glaciers, or the remnants of the inland sea, or gravity or a combination of all, but the Army Corps of Engineers controls it now. The Columbia rises and falls, not by the dictates of tide or rainfall, but by a computer-activated, legally arbitrated, federally allocated schedule that changes only when significant litigation is concluded, or a United States Senator nears election time. In that sense, it is reliable.

Timothy Egan, in The Good Rain[113]

The larger U.S. dams are owned and operated by the federal government (some by the Army Corps of Engineers and some by the Bureau of Reclamation), while the smaller dams are operated by public utility districts, and private power companies. The federally operated system is known as the Federal Columbia River Power System, which includes 31 dams on the Columbia and its tributaries. The system has altered the seasonal flow of the river in order to meet higher electricity demands during the winter. At the beginning of the 20th century, roughly 75 percent of the Columbia's flow occurred in the summer, between April and September. By 1980, the summer proportion had been lowered to about 50 percent, essentially eliminating the seasonal pattern.[114]

The installation of dams dramatically altered the landscape and ecosystem of the river. At one time, the Columbia was one of the top salmon-producing river systems in the world.[115] Previously active fishing sites, most notably Celilo Falls in the eastern Columbia River Gorge, have exhibited a sharp decline in fishing along the Columbia in the last century, and salmon populations have been dramatically reduced.[116] Fish ladders have been installed at some dam sites to help the fish journey to spawning waters. Chief Joseph Dam has no fish ladders and completely blocks fish migration to the upper half of the Columbia River system.[117]

Irrigation

A map shows the locations of many river dams on the Columbia River and its tributaries. They extend from near the river mouth in Oregon and Washington all the way up these rivers into Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and British Columbia.
Prominent dams of the Columbia River Basin. Color indicates dam ownership:
  U.S. Federal government
  Public Utilities
  State, provincial, or local government
  Private

The Bureau of Reclamation's Columbia Basin Project focused on the generally dry region of central Washington known as the Columbia Basin, which features rich loess soil.[12] Several groups developed competing proposals, and in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the Columbia Basin Project. The Grand Coulee Dam was the project's central component; upon completion, it pumped water up from the Columbia to fill the formerly dry Grand Coulee, forming Banks Lake. By 1935, the intended height of the dam was increased from a range between 200 and 300 feet (61 and 91 m) to 500 feet (150 m), a height that would extend the lake impounded by the dam all the way to the Canadian border; the project had grown from a local New Deal relief measure to a major national project.[112]

The project's initial purpose was irrigation, but the onset of World War II created a high demand for electricity, mainly for aluminum production and for the development of nuclear weapons at the Hanford Site. Irrigation began in 1951.[118] The project provides water to more than 670 thousand acres (2,700 km2) of fertile but arid land in central Washington,[12] transforming the region into a major agricultural center. Important crops include orchard fruit, potatoes, alfalfa, mint, beans, beets, and wine grapes.[16]

Since 1750, the Columbia has experienced six multi-year droughts. The longest, lasting 12 years in the mid-19th century, reduced the river's flow to 20 percent below average. Scientists have expressed concern that a similar drought would have grave consequences in a region so dependent on the Columbia.[119] In 1992–1993, a lesser drought affected farmers, hydroelectric power producers, shippers, and wildlife managers.[119]

Many farmers in central Washington build dams on their property for irrigation and to control frost on their crops. The Washington Department of Ecology, using new techniques involving aerial photographs, estimated there may be as many as a hundred such dams in the area, most of which are illegal. Six such dams have failed in recent years, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage to crops and public roads. Fourteen farms in the area have gone through the permitting process to build such dams legally.[120]

Hydroelectricity

Half-length photo of a middle-aged man sitting in front of a closed door and playing a guitar and singing. His wavy black hair is partly covered by a black hat tipped at a rakish angle. He wears a striped flannel work shirt. His black guitar has a sign on it that says, "This machine kills fascists".
Roll on, Columbia, roll on, roll on, Columbia, roll on / Your power is turning our darkness to dawn / Roll on, Columbia, roll on. Lyrics from Woody Guthrie's Roll on Columbia, written for the Bonneville Power Administration

The Columbia's heavy flow and extreme elevation drop over a short distance, 2.16 feet per mile (40.9 cm/km), give it tremendous capacity for hydroelectricity generation. In comparison, the Mississippi drops less than 0.65 feet per mile (12.3 cm/km). The Columbia alone possesses one-third of the United States's hydroelectric potential.[121]

The largest of the 150 hydroelectric projects, the Grand Coulee Dam and the Chief Joseph Dam, are also the largest in the United States[122][123] and among the largest in the world.[124]

Inexpensive hydropower supported the emergence of an extensive aluminum industry, which draws tremendous amounts of power. Until 2000, the Northwestern United States produced up to 17 percent of the world's aluminum and 40 percent of the aluminum produced in the U.S.[125] But the commoditization of power in the early 21st century, coupled with drought that reduced the generation capacity of the river, damaged the industry. By 2001, Columbia River aluminum producers had idled 80 percent of its production capacity,[125] and by 2003, the entire U.S. produced only 15 percent of the world's aluminum, many smelters among the Columbia having gone dormant or out of business.[126][127]

Power remains relatively inexpensive along the Columbia, and in recent years high-tech companies like Google have begun to move server farm operations into the area to avail themselves of cheap power.[128]

Downriver of Grand Coulee, each dam's reservoir is closely regulated by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Army Corps of Engineers, and various Washington Public Utility Districts to ensure flow, flood control, and power generation objectives are met. Increasingly, hydro-power operations are required to meet standards under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and other agreements to manage operations to minimize impacts on salmon and other fish, and some conservation and fishing groups support removing four dams on the lower Snake River, the largest tributary of the Columbia.[129]

In 1941, the BPA hired Oklahoma folksinger Woody Guthrie to write songs for a documentary film promoting the benefits of hydropower. In the month he spent traveling the region Guthrie wrote 26 songs, which have become an important part of the cultural history of the region.[130][131]

Ecology and environment

Fish migration

See also: Environmental impacts of reservoirs
Six men in bib overalls, hats, boots, and other work clothes pull on a large net full of fish. They are standing in the shallows of a big river. Rounded hills rise on the opposite bank of the river.
Seining salmon on the Columbia River, 1914
A dead fish lies on its side in shallow water over a bed of stream cobbles. Its skin has a reddish-purple cast; its mouth is open; its visible eye socket lacks an eye.
In their natural life cycle, salmon die shortly after spawning. Eagle Creek in Oregon, November 2007.

The Columbia supports several species of anadromous fish that migrate between the Pacific Ocean and fresh water tributaries of the river. Coho and Chinook (also known as "king") salmon, and steelhead, all of the genus Oncorhynchus, are ocean fish that migrate up the rivers at the end of their life cycles to spawn.[132] White sturgeon, which take 15 to 25 years to mature, typically migrate between the ocean and the upstream habitat several times during their lives.[133]

Salmon populations declined dramatically after the establishment of canneries in 1867. By 1908, there was widespread concern about the decline of salmon and sturgeon. In that year, the people of Oregon passed two laws under their newly instituted program of Citizens' Initiatives limiting fishing on the Columbia and other rivers.[134] Then in 1948, another initiative banned the use of seine nets (devices invented by Native Americans, and refined by later settlers) altogether.[135]

Dams interrupt the migration of anadromous fish. Salmon and steelhead return to the streams in which they were born to spawn; where dams prevent their return, entire populations of salmon die. Some of the Columbia and Snake River dams employ fish ladders, which are effective to varying degrees at allowing these fish to travel upstream. Another problem exists for the juvenile salmon headed downstream to the ocean. Previously, this journey would have taken two to three weeks. With river currents slowed by the dams, and the Columbia converted from wild river to a series of slackwater pools, the journey can take several months, which increases the mortality rate.[136] In some cases, the Army Corps of Engineers transports juvenile fish downstream by truck or river barge. The Chief Joseph Dam and several dams on the Columbia's tributaries entirely block migration, and there are no migrating fish on the river above these dams. Sturgeon have different migration habits and can survive without ever visiting the ocean. In many upstream areas cut off from the ocean by dams, sturgeon simply live upstream of the dam.[137]

Not all fish have suffered from the modifications to the river; the northern pikeminnow (formerly known as the squawfish) thrives in the warmer, slower water created by the dams. Research in the mid-1980s found that juvenile salmon were suffering substantially from the predatory pikeminnow,[138] and in 1990, in the interest of protecting salmon, a "bounty" program was established to reward anglers for catching pikeminnow.[139]

In 1994, the salmon catch was smaller than usual in the rivers of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, causing concern among commercial fishermen, government agencies, and tribal leaders.[140][141] U.S. government intervention, to which the states of Alaska, Idaho, and Oregon objected, included an 11-day closure of an Alaska fishery.[142] In April 1994 the Pacific Fisheries Management Council unanimously approved the strictest regulations in 18 years, banning all commercial salmon fishing for that year from Cape Falcon north to the Canadian border.[64][143] In the winter of 1994, the return of coho salmon far exceeded expectations, which was attributed in part to the fishing ban.[144]

Also in 1994, United States Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt first proposed the removal of several Pacific Northwest dams because of their impact on salmon spawning.[145] The Northwest Power Planning Council approved a plan that provided more water for fish and less for electricity, irrigation, and transportation.[146] Environmental advocates have called for the removal of certain dams in the Columbia system in the years since. Of the 227 major dams in the Columbia River drainage basin, the four Washington dams on the lower Snake River are often identified for removal,[147] notably in an ongoing lawsuit concerning a Bush administration plan for salmon recovery.[129] These dams and reservoirs currently limit the recovery of upriver salmon runs to Idaho's Salmon and Clearwater rivers.[148] Historically, the Snake produced over 1.5 million spring and summer Chinook Salmon, a number that has dwindled to several thousand in recent years.[149] Idaho Power Company's Hells Canyon dams have no fish ladders (and do not pass juvenile salmon downstream), and thus allow no steelhead or salmon to migrate above Hells Canyon. In 2007, the destruction of the Marmot Dam on the Sandy River was the first dam removal in the system.[150] There are plans to remove the Condit Dam on Washington's White Salmon River, and the Milltown Dam on the Clark Fork in Montana.[151]

Pollution

In southeastern Washington, a 50-mile (80 km) stretch of the river passes through the Hanford Site, established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project. The site served as a plutonium production complex, with nine nuclear reactors and related facilities located on the banks of the river. From 1944 to 1971, pump systems drew cooling water from the river and, after treating this water for use by the reactors, returned it to the river. Before being released back into the river, the used water was held in large tanks known as retention basins for up to six hours. Longer-lived isotopes were not affected by this retention, and several terabecquerels entered the river every day. By 1957, the eight plutonium production reactors at Hanford dumped a daily average of 50,000 curies of radioactive material into the Columbia.[152] These releases were kept secret by the federal government until the release of declassified documents in the late 1980s.[153] Radiation was measured downstream as far west as the Washington and Oregon coasts.[154]

A cluster of industrial structures lie on a flat plain by a big river. The structures include a few low rectangular buildings, many smaller buildings, cylindrical tanks of varied sizes, and a tall smokestack. Several roads connect the cluster to other parts of the plain. Smoke or steam rises from two places further upriver.
Nuclear reactors at the Hanford site along the river

The nuclear reactors were decommissioned at the end of the Cold War, and the Hanford site is now the focus of the world's largest environmental cleanup, managed by the Department of Energy under the oversight of the Washington Department of Ecology and the Environmental Protection Agency.[155] Nearby aquifers contain an estimated 270 billion US gallons (1 billion m3) of groundwater contaminated by high-level nuclear waste that has leaked out of Hanford's massive underground storage tanks.[156] As of 2008, 1 million US gallons (3,785 m3) of highly radioactive waste is traveling through groundwater toward the Columbia River. This waste is expected to reach the river in 12 to 50 years if cleanup does not proceed on schedule.[157]

In addition to concerns about nuclear waste, numerous other pollutants are found in the river. These include chemical pesticides, bacteria, arsenic, dioxins, and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB).[158]

Studies have also found significant levels of toxins in fish and the waters they inhabit within the basin. Accumulation of toxins in fish threatens the survival of fish species, and human consumption of these fish can lead to health problems. Water quality is also an important factor in the survival of other wildlife and plants that grow in the Columbia River drainage basin. The states, Indian tribes, and federal government are all engaged in efforts to restore and improve the water, land, and air quality of the Columbia River drainage basin and have committed to work together to enhance and accomplish critical ecosystem restoration efforts. A number of cleanup efforts are currently underway, including Superfund projects at Portland Harbor, Hanford, and Lake Roosevelt.[159]

Timber industry activity further contaminates river water, notably in the increased sediment runoff that results from clearcuts. The Northwest Forest Plan, a piece of federal legislation from 1994, mandated that timber companies consider the environmental impacts of their practices on rivers like the Columbia.[160]

On July 1, 2003, Christopher Swain of Portland, Oregon, became the first person to swim the Columbia River's entire length, in an effort to raise public awareness about the river's environmental health.[158][161][162]

Watershed

A big river winds through a landscape of sparsely vegetated hills and bluffs. Dark rock faces contrast sharply with a bright blue sky veiled with intermittent white and gray clouds. In the foreground, an open space between bluffs opens on the river.
Near The Gorge Amphitheater in George, Washington
Main article: Columbia Basin

Most of the Columbia's drainage basin (which, at 258,000 square miles or 670,000 square kilometres, is about the size of France)[163] lies roughly between the Rocky Mountains on the east and the Cascade Mountains on the west. In the United States and Canada the term watershed is often used to mean drainage basin. The term Columbia Basin is used to refer not only to the entire drainage basin but also to subsets of the river's full watershed, such as the relatively flat and unforested area in eastern Washington bounded by the Cascades, the Rocky Mountains, and the Blue Mountains.[164] Within the watershed are diverse landforms including mountains, arid plateaus, river valleys, rolling uplands, and deep gorges. Grand Teton National Park lies in the watershed, as well as parts of Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, and North Cascades National Park. Canadian National Parks in the watershed include Kootenay National Park, Yoho National Park, Glacier National Park, and Mount Revelstoke National Park. Hells Canyon, the deepest gorge in North America,[163] and the Columbia Gorge are in the watershed. Vegetation varies widely, ranging from Western hemlock and Western redcedar in the moist regions to sagebrush in the arid regions.[165] The watershed provides habitat for 609 known fish and wildlife species, including the bull trout, Bald Eagle, gray wolf, grizzly bear, and Canada lynx.[163]

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) divides the waters of the Columbia and its tributaries into three freshwater ecoregions, naming them: Columbia Glaciated, Columbia Unglaciated, and Upper Snake. The Columbia Glaciated ecoregion, making up about a third of the total watershed, lies in the north and was covered with ice sheets during the Pleistocene. The ecoregion includes the mainstem Columbia north of the Snake River and tributaries such as the Yakima, Okanagan, Pend Oreille, Clark Fork, and Kootenay Rivers. The effects of glaciation include a number of large lakes and a relatively low diversity of freshwater fish. The Upper Snake ecoregion is defined as the Snake River watershed above Shoshone Falls, which totally blocks fish migration. This region has 14 species of fish, many of which are endemic. The Columbia Unglaciated ecoregion makes up the rest of the watershed. It includes the mainstem Columbia below the Snake River and tributaries such as the Salmon, John Day, Deschutes, and lower Snake Rivers. Of the three ecoregions it is the richest in terms of freshwater species diversity. There are 35 species of fish, of which four are endemic. There are also high levels of mollusk endemism.[166][167]

In 2000, about six million people lived within the Columbia's drainage basin. Of this total about 2.4 million people lived in Oregon, 1.7 million in Washington, 1 million in Idaho, half a million in British Columbia, and 0.4 million in Montana. Population in the watershed has been rising for many decades and is projected to rise to about 10 million by 2030. The highest population densities are found west of the Cascade Mountains along the I-5 corridor, especially in the Portland-Vancouver urban area. High densities are also found around Spokane, Washington, and Boise, Idaho. Although much of the watershed is rural and sparsely populated, areas with recreational and scenic values are growing rapidly. The central Oregon county of Deschutes is the fastest-growing in the state. Populations have also been growing just east of the Cascades in central Washington around the city of Yakima and the Tri-Cities area. Projections for the coming decades assume growth throughout the watershed, including the interior. The Canadian part of the Okanagan subbasin is also growing rapidly.[165]

Climate varies greatly from place to place within the watershed. Elevation ranges from sea level at the river mouth to more than 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in the mountains, and temperatures vary with elevation. The highest peak is Mount Rainier, at 14,411 feet (4,392 m). High elevations have cold winters and short cool summers; interior regions are subject to great temperature variability and severe droughts. Over some of the watershed, especially west of the Cascade Mountains, precipitation maximums occur in winter, when Pacific storms come ashore. Atmospheric conditions block the flow of moisture in summer, which is generally dry except for occasional thunderstorms in the interior.[165] In some of the eastern parts of the watershed, especially shurb-steppe regions with Continental climate patterns, precipitation maximums occur in early summer.[168] Annual precipitation varies from more than 100 inches (250 cm) a year in the Cascades to less than 8 inches (20 cm) in the interior. Much of the watershed gets less than 12 inches (30 cm) a year.[165]

Several major North American drainage basins and many minor ones share a common border with the Columbia River's drainage basin. To the east, in northern Wyoming and Montana, the Continental Divide separates the Columbia watershed from the Mississippi-Missouri watershed, which empties into the Gulf of Mexico. To the northeast, mostly along the southern border between British Columbia and Alberta, the Continental Divide separates the Columbia watershed from the Nelson-Lake Winnipeg-Saskatchewan watershed, which empties into Hudson Bay. The Mississippi and Nelson watersheds are separated by the Laurentian Divide, which meets the Continental Divide at Triple Divide Peak near the headwaters of the Columbia's Flathead River tributary. This point marks the meeting of three of North America's main drainage patterns, to the Pacific Ocean, to Hudson Bay, and to the Atlantic Ocean via the Gulf of Mexico.[169][170]

Further north along the Continental Divide, a short portion of the combined Continental and Laurentian divides separate the Columbia watershed from the MacKenzie-Slave-Athabasca watershed, which empties into the Arctic Ocean. The Nelson and Mackenzie watersheds are separated by a divide between streams flowing to the Arctic Ocean and those of the Hudson Bay watershed.[171] This divide meets the Continental Divide at Snow Dome (also known as Dome), near the northernmost bend of the Columbia River.[172]

To the southeast, in western Wyoming, another divide separates the Columbia watershed from the Colorado-Green watershed, which empties into the Gulf of California. The Columbia, Colorado, and Mississippi watersheds meet at Three Waters Mountain in the Wind River Range of Wyoming.[173] To the south, in Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming, the Columbia watershed is divided from the Great Basin, whose several watersheds are endorheic, not emptying into any ocean but rather drying up or sinking into sumps.[169] Great Basin watersheds that share a border with the Columbia watershed include Harney Basin, Humboldt River, and Great Salt Lake.[169] The associated triple divide points are Commissary Ridge North, Wyoming,[174] and Sproats Meadow Northwest, Oregon.[175] To the north, mostly in British Columbia, the Columbia watershed borders the Fraser River watershed. To the west and southwest the Columbia watershed borders a number of smaller watersheds that drain to the Pacific Ocean, such as the Klamath River in Oregon and California and the Puget Sound Basin in Washington.[169]

Major tributaries

See also: List of tributaries of the Columbia River
A relatively small river winds through a series of sparsely vegetated brown hills under a nearly cloudless blue sky. The river and the low hills are in shade, while the hilltops and a large hillside in the foreground are sunlit.
Deschutes River at its confluence with the Columbia

The Columbia receives more than 60 significant tributaries. The four largest that empty directly into the Columbia (measured either by discharge or by size of watershed) are the Snake River (mostly in Idaho), the Willamette River (in northwest Oregon), the Kootenay River (mostly in British Columbia), and the Pend Oreille River (mostly in northern Washington and Idaho, also known as the lower part of the Clark Fork). Each of these four averages more than 20,000 cubic feet per second (570 m3/s) and drains an area of more than 20,000 square miles (52,000 km2).

The Snake is by far the largest tributary. Its watershed of 108,000 square miles (280,000 km2) is larger than the state of Idaho. Its discharge is nearly equal to the Columbia's at the rivers' confluence. Compared to the Columbia above the confluence, the Snake is longer (113%), and its drainage basin is larger (104%).

The Pend Oreille river system (including its main tributaries, the Clark Fork and Flathead rivers) is also similar in size to the Columbia at their confluence. Compared to the Columbia River above the two rivers' confluence, the Pend Oreille-Clark-Flathead is nearly as long (about 86%), its basin about three-fourths as large (76%), and its discharge over a third (37%).[176]

Tributary Average discharge Drainage basin
ft3/s m3/s mi2 km2
Snake River 56,900 1,610[6] 107,500 278,400[177]
Willamette River 37,400 1,060[6] 11,460 29,680[178]
Kootenay River (Kootenai) 30,650 868[179] 19,420 50,300[180]
Pend Oreille River 26,430 748[181] 25,800 66,800[182]
Cowlitz River 9,140 259[183] 2,586 6,700[184]
Spokane River 7,900 224[185] 6,680 17,300 [186]
Lewis River 6,125 173[187] 1,046 2,710[188]
Deschutes River 5,845 166[189] 10,700 27,700 [186]
Yakima River 3,542 100[190] 6,150 15,900[191]
Wenatchee River 3,079 87[192] 1,350 3,500[186]
Okanogan River 3,039 86[193] 8,340 21,600[194]
Kettle River 2,925 83[195] 4,200 10,880[196]
Sandy River 2,257 64[197] 508 1,316[198]
John Day River 2,060 58[199] 8,010 20,750[200]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ Holbrook, Stewart (1956). The Columbia: The Classic Portrait of the Great River of the Northwest. Comstock Editions. ISBN 0-89174-123-4. 
  2. ^ Marsh, James (1999). "Columbia River". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Foundation. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001777. Retrieved 2008-04-01. 
  3. ^ "Columbia Lake". Canadian Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. 2008. http://geonames2.nrcan.gc.ca/cgi-bin/v9/sima_unique_v9?english?JATIP?C. Retrieved 2008-04-01. 
  4. ^ "Columbia River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 1980-11-28. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1140014. Retrieved 2008-04-01. 
  5. ^ "River Overview". Columbia River Keeper. 2000–2004. http://www.columbiariverkeeper.org/intro.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-01. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Kammerer, J.C. (May 1990). "Largest Rivers in the United States". United States Geological Survey. http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1987/ofr87-242/. Retrieved 2008-04-01. 
  7. ^ Kimbrough, R.A.; Ruppert, G.P.; Wiggins, W.D.; Smith, R.R.; Kresch, D.L. (2006). "Water Data Report WA-05-1: Klickitat and White Salmon River Basins and the Columbia River from Kennewick to Bonneville Dam" (PDF). Water Resources Data-Washington Water Year 2005. United States Geological Survey. http://pubs.usgs.gov/wdr/2005/wdr-wa-05-1/pdf/wa00103ADR2005_Figure66.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-01. 
  8. ^ Identical data in: Loy, William G.; Stuart Allan, Aileen R. Buckley, James E. Meecham (2001). Atlas of Oregon. University of Oregon Press. pp. 164–65. ISBN 0-87114-102-7. 
  9. ^ According to the United States Geological Survey fact sheet, "Largest Rivers in the United States", "Rivers are considered large on the basis of one or more of three characteristics: total length from source to mouth, area of basin (watershed) drained by the stream, and average rate of flow (discharge) at the mouth." The Columbia is the largest river of the Pacific Northwest in all three senses.
  10. ^ "The Atlas of Canada: Toporama – Topographic Maps". Natural Resources Canada. 2006. http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/topo/map?mapsize=428+380&scale=20000&mapxy=-1454989.00+375638.75. Retrieved 2009-09-02. 
  11. ^ Kowalski, Peter; Kaplan, Brian; Karus, Greg (2001-03-07). "Health consultation". Colville Federated Tribes. United States Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hac/pha/colville/cct_p1.html. Retrieved 2007-11-08. 
  12. ^ a b c "Columbia Basin Project". U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation. 2009. http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Project.jsp?proj_Name=Columbia%20Basin%20Project. Retrieved 2009-09-02. 
  13. ^ "Oregon's Publicly-Owned Waterways". Public Ownership of Submerged and Submersible Land. Oregon Department of State Lands. http://www.oregon.gov/DSL/NAV/navigwaterways.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-09. 
  14. ^ "Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area". U.S. Department of Agriculture: Forest Service. Archived from the original on 2007-12-09. http://web.archive.org/web/20071209080927/http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/columbia/. 
  15. ^ Jacklet, Ben (2004-10-19). "Columbia pilot pay attracts port's eye". Portland Tribune. http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=26722. Retrieved 2007-06-14. 
  16. ^ a b c d Lang, Bill (2008). "Columbia River". Center for Columbia River History. http://www.ccrh.org/river/history.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-02. 
  17. ^ This number was derived from the rivers list published in Atlas Canada by Natural Resources Canada.
  18. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions About Canada". The Atlas of Canada. Natural Resources Canada. 2008. http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/faq.html#rivers. Retrieved 2008-09-07. 
  19. ^ Gerber, Michele (1992). "Legend and Legacy: Fifty Years of Defense Production at the Hanford Site". University of Washington Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest. http://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/Website/Classroom%20Materials/Curriculum%20Packets/Cold%20War%20&%20Red%20Scare/Documents/51.html. Retrieved 2008-01-26. 
  20. ^ "Discover Canada Through National Maps and Facts: Rivers". The Atlas of Canada. Natural Resources Canada. 2008. http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/rivers.html#basins. Retrieved 2008-09-07. 
  21. ^ a b c "USGS Real-Time Water Data for USGS 14105700 Columbia River at the Dalles, OR". United States Geological Survey. http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?14105700. Retrieved 2008-08-06. 
  22. ^ National Weather Service Forecast Office, Portland, Oregon (2008). "Local Tide Predictions and Water Levels". U.S. Department of Commerce. http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/pqr/tides.php. Retrieved 2008-09-17. 
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  25. ^ a b "The Geologic History of the Columbia River Gorge". United States Geological Survey. 2001. http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Washington/ColumbiaRiver/geo_history_gorge.html. Retrieved 2008-04-02. 
  26. ^ Bishop, p. 98
  27. ^ a b "Columbia Plateau and Columbia River Basalt Group". United States Geological Survey. 2003. http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/ColumbiaPlateau/description_columbia_plateau.html. Retrieved 2008-10-01. 
  28. ^ "Glacial Lake Missoula and the Missoula Floods". United States Geological Survey. http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/Glaciers/IceSheets/description_lake_missoula.html. Retrieved 2009-09-03. 
  29. ^ Bishop, pp. 226–29
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  32. ^ Bishop, p. 227
  33. ^ Hill, Richard L. (September 9, 1999). "Radiocarbon dates indicate the Bonneville Landslide may be far younger than thought". The Oregonian. http://landslides.usgs.gov/recent/archives/1999bonneville.php. Retrieved 2009-09-07. 
  34. ^ a b c Reynolds, Nathaniel D. (December 2001). "Dating the Bonneville Landslide with Lichenometry" (PDF). Washington Geology 29 (3/4): 11–16. http://www.dnr.wa.gov/Publications/ger_washington_geology_2001_v29_no3-4.pdf. Retrieved 2009-09-07. 
  35. ^ Hill, Richard L. (May 15, 2002). "Science - Landslide Sleuths". The Oregonian. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/pacnw/paleo/greateq/20020515.html. Retrieved 2009-09-07. 
  36. ^ O'Connor, Jim E. (September 2004). "The Evolving Landscape of the Columbia River Gorge: Lewis and Clark and Cataclysms on the Columbia". Oregon Historical Quarterly 105 (3). JSTOR 20615448. 
  37. ^ a b Norman, David K.; Jaretta M. Roloff (March 2004). "A Self-Guided Tour of the Geology of the Columbia River Gorge—Portland Airport to Skamania Lodge, Stevenson, Washington" (PDF). Washington Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geology and Earth Resources. http://www.dnr.wa.gov/Publications/ger_ofr2004-7_geol_tour_columbia_river_gorge.pdf. Retrieved 2009-09-08. 
  38. ^ Rybář, Jan; Josef Stemberk, Peter Wagner (2002). Landslides: proceedings of the First European Conference on Landslides, Prague, Czech Republic, June 24–26, 2002. Taylor & Francis. p. 695. ISBN 978-90-5809-393-6. http://books.google.com/?id=psFSK_nUqqMC. 
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  40. ^ National Research Council (U.S.) (2004). Managing The Columbia River: Instream Flows, Water Withdrawals, and Salmon Survival. National Academies Press. p. 18. ISBN 0-309-09155-1. http://books.google.com/?id=uXF5b6syTQ8C. Retrieved 2008-04-03.  URL is to the Google Book Search version.
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  43. ^ Hunn, Eugene S. (1990). Nch'i-Wàna: The big river. Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 3. ISBN 0-295-96851-6. 
  44. ^ Archie Satterfield, Country Roads of Washington (Backinprint.com: 2003) ISBN 0-595-26863-3, page 82
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  47. ^ a b Meinig, D.W. (1995) [1968]. The Great Columbia Plain (Weyerhaeuser Environmental Classic ed.). University of Washington Press. pp. 23–25, 493, 496. ISBN 0-295-97485-0. 
  48. ^ a b People of the Dalles, pp. 12–13.
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  50. ^ a b Boyd, Robert (1996). People of the Dalles: The Indians of Wascopam Mission. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 4–7. ISBN 0-8032-1236-4. 
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  53. ^ Empty Nets, p. 14.
  54. ^ Empty Nets, p. 6.
  55. ^ Barber, Katrine (2005). Death of Celilo Falls. Seattle: University of Washington Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0-295-98546-1. 
  56. ^ Attributed to anthropologist Philip Drucker in Cultures of the North Pacific Coast in: Netboy, Anthony (1980). The Columbia River salmon and steelhead trout. Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 14. ISBN 0-295-95768-9. 
  57. ^ Tate, Cassandra (December 27, 2005). "Kettle Falls". HistoryLink.org. http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=7577. 
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  61. ^ Cain, Allen (September 2007). "Boils Swell & Whorl Pools". Oregon Historical Quarterly 108 (4). JSTOR 20615793. 
  62. ^ Ronda, James P. (1984). Lewis & Clark among the Indians. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-8990-1. http://books.google.com/?id=cz4ts0fCDssC&dq=lewis+and+clark+among+the+indians&pg=PP1&q=Lewis+and+Clark+among+the+Indians. Retrieved 2008-04-03.  URL is to the Google Book Search version.
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  65. ^ Empty Nets, p. 5.
  66. ^ Empty Nets, p. 11.
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  68. ^ "It is a near certainty that Japanese or Chinese people arrived on the northwest coast long before any European."Hayes, Derek (1999). Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest: Maps of Exploration and Discovery. Seattle, Washington: Sasquatch Books. p. 9. ISBN 1570612153. 
  69. ^ a b c d e f Hayes, Derek (1999). Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest: Maps of Exploration and Discovery. Seattle, Washington: Sasquatch Books. ISBN 1570612153. 
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  82. ^ Reeder, Lee B.. "Open the Columbia to the Sea". Center for Columbia River History. http://www.ccrh.org/comm/umatilla/primary/opensea.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-03.  URL is to a reprint of a 1902 magazine edition of the Pendleton Daily Tribune published by E.P. Dodd.
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  114. ^ National Research Council (U.S.) (2004). Managing The Columbia River: Instream Flows, Water Withdrawals, and Salmon Survival. National Academies Press. pp. 4, 22. ISBN 0-309-09155-1. http://books.google.com/?id=uXF5b6syTQ8C. Retrieved 2008-04-03.  URL is to the Google Book Search version.
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  116. ^ "Celilo Falls and The Dalles Dam Historic Viewer". Oregon Historical Society. http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historicviewer/CeliloFalls/. Retrieved 2009-09-04. 
  117. ^ "Chief Joseph Dam". The Center for Land Use Interpretation. http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/WA3264/. Retrieved 2009-09-04. 
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  119. ^ a b Hines, Sandra; Sands, Yasmeen; Hunt, Lori Bona (2005-02-14). "Tree-ring data reveals multiyear droughts unlike any in recent memory". University of Washington Office of News and Information. http://www.washington.edu/news/archive/id/8220. Retrieved 2008-01-26. 
  120. ^ McNiel, Michelle (2008-03-21). "State cracking down on illegal frost-control dams". Wenatchee World. 
  121. ^ Harden, Blaine (1996). A River Lost: The Life and Death of the Columbia. W.W. Norton & Company. p. 17. ISBN 0-393-03936-6. 
  122. ^ "Renewable Energy Sources: A Consumer's Guide". U.S. Department of Energy: Energy Information Administration. 2004. ftp://ftp.eia.doe.gov/brochures/brochure/renew05/renewable.html. Retrieved 2007-11-19. 
  123. ^ "Chief Joseph Dam and Rufus Woods Lake". U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. November 19, 2003. http://www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/report/chj.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-03. 
  124. ^ "World's Largest Hydroelectric Plants". Pearson Education (infoplease.com). 2000–2008. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001336.html. Retrieved 2008-04-01. 
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  126. ^ Fehrenbacher, Gretchen (2003-02-23). "Aluminum all but gone". The Columbian: p. E1. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=VC&p_theme=vc&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=Aluminum%20all%20but%20gone&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=2003&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Aluminum%20all%20but%20gone)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=_rank_:D&xcal_ranksort=4&xcal_useweights=yes. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 
  127. ^ McCall, William (2002-11-22). "BPA chief to detail strategy for troubled power broker". The Columbian: p. C2. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=VC&p_theme=vc&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=BPA%20chief%20to%20detail%20strategy%20for%20troubled%20power%20broker&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=2002&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(BPA%20chief%20to%20detail%20strategy%20for%20troubled%20power%20broker)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=_rank_:D&xcal_ranksort=4&xcal_useweights=yes. Retrieved 2008-09-12. 
  128. ^ Markoff, John; Hansell, Saul (2006-06-14). "Hiding in Plain Sight, Google Seeks More Power". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/14/technology/14search.html. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 
  129. ^ a b Milstein, Michael (2007-12-11). "Judge rips latest plan to help salmon". The Oregonian. 
  130. ^ Heinz, Spencer (2007-07-08). "Rolling along the Columbia, driving for Woody Guthrie". The Oregonian. 
  131. ^ Morrow, Lance; Thornburgh, Nathan (2002-07-08). "This Land Is Whose Land?". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1002825,00.html. Retrieved 2008-04-04. 
  132. ^ "Managing the Columbia River system to help fish" (PDF). Bonneville Power Administration. 2006. http://www.bpa.gov/corporate/pubs/backgrounder/06/bg120106.pdf. Retrieved 2009-09-04. 
  133. ^ "White Sturgeon". Pacific Coast Marine Habitat Program. 1996. http://www.psmfc.org/habitat/edu_wsturg_fact.html. Retrieved 2009-09-04. 
  134. ^ Frank W. Benson, Secretary of State (June 1908). A Pamphlet Containing All Measures.... State of Oregon. http://books.google.com/?id=-HsNAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover. 
  135. ^ Smith, Courtland L.: Seine fishing in the Oregon Encyclopedia
  136. ^ Mueller, Ted (1997). Fire, Faults, and Floods: A Road and Trail Guide Exploring the Origins of the Columbia River Basin. Moscow, Idaho: University of Idaho Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-89301-206-9. 
  137. ^ "Upper Columbia White Sturgeon". Upper Columbia White Sturgeon Recovery Initiative. 2007. http://www.uppercolumbiasturgeon.org/. Retrieved 2009-09-04. 
  138. ^ "The Northern Pikeminnow Management program". Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. August 25, 2008. http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/OSCRP/CRI/Pikeminnow.asp. Retrieved September 20, 2009. 
  139. ^ Hansen, Chris (July 7, 2005). "Fishing for dollars". The Register-Guard. 
  140. ^ Balzar, John (1994-04-02). "As Wild Salmon Fade, Northwest Losing a Symbol". Los Angeles Times. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/59341587.html?dids=59341587:59341587&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Apr+02%2C+1994&author=JOHN+BALZAR&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=As+Wild+Salmon+Fade%2C+Northwest+Losing+a+Symbol&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
  141. ^ Swardson, Anne (1994-12-31). "Mystery of Vanishing Salmon Puzzles Canadians; Commercial Fishermen, Indian Groups and Officials Dispute Who's to Blame for Drop in Harvest". The Washington Post. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/72305482.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Dec+31%2C+1994&author=Anne+Swardson&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=a.23&desc=Mystery+of+Vanishing+Salmon+Puzzles+Canadians%3B+Commercial+Fishermen%2C+Indian+Groups+and+Officials+Dispute+Who%27s+to+Blame+for+Drop+in+Harvest. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
  142. ^ Enge, Marilee (1994-03-03). "Lawsuit targets fishery closure: Alaska seeks to reverse policy on Snake River king salmon run" (subscription required). Anchorage Daily News. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AS&p_theme=as&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F78EC32E9B37EDB&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
  143. ^ "Strict Fishing Limits Are Passed To Protect Salmon in Northwest". The New York Times. 1994-04-10. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01EEDD153EF933A25757C0A962958260. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
  144. ^ "Massive coho return surprises fisheries" (subscription required). The News Tribune. 1994-12-28. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=TNTB&d_place=TNTB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F0FBF58EE18B3C4&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
  145. ^ Healy, Melissa (1994-03-31). "Are West's Dams Set in Stone? Bruce Babbitt dreams of razing some of them to transform rivers and the Interior Department. But businesses dependent on cheap water and power fear the added expense and predict job losses.". Los Angeles Times. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/59340985.html?dids=59340985:59340985&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+31%2C+1994&author=MELISSA+HEALY&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=COLUMN+ONE+Are+West's+Dams+Set+in+Stone%3F+Bruce+Babbitt+dreams+of+razing+some+of+them+to+transform+rivers+and+the+Interior+Department.+But+businesses+dependent+on+cheap+water+and+power+fear+the+added+expense+and+predict+job+losses.&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
  146. ^ Kenworthy, Tom (1994-12-15). "Plan to Save Salmon Roils Northwest ; Change Seen Causing Ripples in Economy". The Washington Post. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/72301635.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Dec+15%2C+1994&author=Tom+Kenworthy&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=a.03&desc=Plan+to+Save+Salmon+Roils+Northwest+%3B+Change+Seen+Causing+Ripples+in+Economy. Retrieved 2008-04-04. 
  147. ^ Robinson, Erik (2007-04-15). "Pressure builds on Snake River dams". The Columbian. http://www.bluefish.org/pressure.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-04. 
  148. ^ Monroe, Bill (2006-09-11). "Oregon's delicate balance". The Oregonian. 
  149. ^ Milstein, Michael (2007-04-10). "Court finds feds no help to fish". The Oregonian. 
  150. ^ Oregonian editorial writers (2007-07-29). "A river released to the wild". The Oregonian. 
  151. ^ Colburn, Kevin (2008-03-14). "Clark Fork to Flow Free This Month". AmericanWhitewater.org. http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Article_view_display_full_id_29971_. Retrieved 2008-03-28. 
  152. ^ Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility (2007–2008). "Hanford History". http://www.psr.org/chapters/washington/hanford/hanford-history.html. Retrieved 2008-04-04. 
  153. ^ Hanford Health Information Network (2000). "An Overview of Hanford and Radiation Health Effects". Archived from the original on 2010-08-23. http://web.archive.org/web/20100823040735/http://www.doh.wa.gov/hanford/publications/overview/overview.html. 
  154. ^ "Radiation Flowed 200 Miles to Sea, Study Finds". The New York Times. 1992-07-17. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE0D8173FF934A25754C0A964958260. Retrieved 2007-01-29. 
  155. ^ U.S. Department of Energy (2008). "Hanford Overview". http://www.hanford.gov/page.cfm/HanfordOverview. Retrieved 2007-01-29. 
  156. ^ Wolman, David (April 2007). "Fission Trip". Wired Magazine: p. 78. 
  157. ^ Washington Department of Ecology. "Hanford Quick Facts". Archived from the original on 2007-08-12. http://web.archive.org/web/20070812061411/http://www.ecy.wa.gov/features/hanford/hanfordfacts.html. 
  158. ^ a b Jacklet, Ben (2001-07-24). "Activist plans an epic swim". The Portland Tribune. http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=5243. Retrieved 2008-09-16. 
  159. ^ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2008). "Columbia River Basin: A National Priority". http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/ecocomm.nsf/Columbia/Columbia. Retrieved 2008-04-04. 
  160. ^ Pegg, J.R. (2007-11-26). "Bush Change to NW Forest Plan Would Ease Logging". Environment News Service. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2002/2002-11-26-10.asp. Retrieved 2008-04-01. 
  161. ^ Wentz, Patty (2002-05-29). "Swimming to astoria". Willamette Week. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-1048-swimming_to_astoria.html. Retrieved 2007-11-22. 
  162. ^ Anderson, Jennifer (2004-07-09). "Challenge sets off global ripples". The Portland Tribune. http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=25157. Retrieved 2007-06-07. 
  163. ^ a b c Booth, Bibi; Fischman, Shelly. "The Columbia River Basin". U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Archived from the original on 2008-04-11. http://web.archive.org/web/20080411153836/http://www.blm.gov/education/00_resources/articles/Columbia_river_basin/article.html. 
  164. ^ Meinig, D.W. (1995) [1968]. The Great Columbia Plain (Weyerhaeuser Environmental Classic ed.). University of Washington Press. p. 4. ISBN 0-295-97485-0. 
  165. ^ a b c d Bilby, Robert; Hanna, Susan; Huntly, Nancy; et al. (2007-07-08). "Human Population Impacts on Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife" (PDF). Independent Scientific Advisory Board. http://www.nwcouncil.org/library/isab/isab2007-3.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-15. 
  166. ^ Abell, Robin A.; David M. Olsen, Eric Dinerstein, Patrick T. Hurley et al. (2000). Freshwater Ecoregions of North America: A Conservation Assessment. Island Press. pp. 166–69. ISBN 1-55963-734-X. 
  167. ^ "Columbia Glaciated". World Wide Fund for Nature and The Nature Conservancy. 2008. http://www.feow.org/ecoregion_details.php?eco=120. Retrieved 2008-09-25. ; "Columbia Unglaciated". World Wide Fund for Nature and The Nature Conservancy. 2008. http://www.feow.org/ecoregion_details.php?eco=121. Retrieved 2008-09-25. ; "Upper Snake". World Wide Fund for Nature and The Nature Conservancy. 2008. http://www.feow.org/ecoregion_details.php?eco=122. Retrieved 2008-09-25. 
  168. ^ "Columbia River Water Management Report, Chapter 2" (PDF). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Water Management Division. 2005. http://www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/crwmg/reports/bluebook/2005/Chapter2%202005.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-19. 
  169. ^ a b c d "Watersheds (map)". Commission for Environmental Cooperation. 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-02-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20080227060842/http://www.cec.org/naatlas/img/NA-Watersheds.gif. 
  170. ^ Gonzalez, Mark A. (2003). "Continental Divides in North Dakota and North America" (PDF). North Dakota Geological Survey Newsletter. https://www.dmr.nd.gov/ndgs/NEWSLETTER/NLS03/pdf/Divide.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-12. 
  171. ^ "Atlas of Canada: Drainage Basins". Natural Resources Canada. 2007. http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/reference/national/drainbasins/referencemap_image_view. Retrieved 2009-09-07. 
  172. ^ Palmer, Howard; Thorington, James Monroe (1921). A climber's guide to the Rocky mountains of Canada. New York, N.Y.: The Knickerbocker Press. p. 119. ISBN none. http://books.google.com/?id=UKVJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA120&lpg=PA120&dq=continental+divide+snow+dome&q=continental%20divide%20snow%20dome. Retrieved 2009-09-02. 
  173. ^ Andersen, Robert N. (2007). "Triple Divide Points of North America". http://www.uwec.edu/andersrn/Triple_Divide_Pts.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-12. 
  174. ^ "Commissary Ridge North, Wyoming". Peakbagger.com. http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=5429. 
  175. ^ "Sproats Meadow Northwest, Oregon". Peakbagger.com. http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=3248. 
  176. ^ Calculated mainly with data from: "Water-resources data for the United States, Water Year 2007". United States Geological Survey. http://wdr.water.usgs.gov/wy2007/search.jsp. Retrieved 2008-09-16. 
  177. ^ "USGS Water Resources of the United States: Boundary Descriptions and Names of Regions, Subregions, Accounting Units and Cataloging Units". United States Geological Survey. 2007. http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/huc_name.html. Retrieved 2008-09-16.  Sum of Subregion 1704, Upper Snake, Subregion 1705, Middle Snake, and Subregion 1706, Lower Snake.
  178. ^ Willamette River Basin, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (2008). Retrieved on 2008-09-16.
  179. ^ Subbasin Overview, Kootenai Subbasin Plan, Northwest Power and Conservation Council
  180. ^ The Rivers, Balance of Power: Hydroelectric Development in Southeastern British Columbia; Touchstones Nelson: Museum of Art and History. Retrieved on 2008-09-16.
  181. ^ "Pend Oreille, Kettle, and Colville River Basins, and the Columbia River from the International Boundary to the confluence with the Spokane River" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. 2005. http://pubs.usgs.gov/wdr/2005/wdr-wa-05-1/pdf/wa00103ADR2005_Figure48.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-19.  Discharge data taken from a gauge at the U.S.–Canada border, 16.1 miles (25.9 km) from the mouth, measuring data from about 25,200 square miles (65,000 km2), about 98 percent of the total watershed.
  182. ^ "Seven Mile Project Water use Plan" (PDF). BC Hydro. 2006-12-08. http://www.llbc.leg.bc.ca/public/pubdocs/bcdocs/409063/seven_mile_project.pdf. Retrieved 2009-09-03. 
  183. ^ "Water-data report 2007: USGS 14243000 Cowlitz River at Castle Rock, WA" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. 2007. http://wdr.water.usgs.gov/wy2007/pdfs/14243000.2007.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-24.  Discharge data taken from gauge 14243000 at Castle Rock, 17.3 miles (27.8 km) from the mouth, measuring the flow from about 2,238 square miles (5,800 km2) or 85 percent of the total watershed.
  184. ^ Calculated by summing subbasin sizes listed in Lower Columbia Tributaries, Northwest Power and Conservation Council; and Toutle Management Plan, Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Retrieved on 2008-09-16.
  185. ^ Benke, Arthur C.; Cushing, Colbert E. (2005). Rivers of North America. Academic Press. p. 650. ISBN 978-0-12-088253-3. http://books.google.com/?id=-bLMR552QBMC. Retrieved 2008-10-16. 
  186. ^ a b c "Boundary Descriptions and Names of Regions". United States Geological Survey. http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/huc_name.html. Retrieved 2008-09-10. 
  187. ^ Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board (December 2004). "Volume II – Subbasin Plan Chapter G – NF and EF Lewis" (PDF). Lower Columbia Salmon Recovery and Fish & Wildlife Subbasin Plan. Northwest Power and Conservation Council. http://www.nwcouncil.org/fw/subbasinplanning/lowerColumbia/plan/Vol%20II%20G--Lewis.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-14. 
  188. ^ "Description: Lewis River Drainage, Mount St. Helens, Washington". United States Geological Survey. 1999. http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/Hydrology/Drainages/Lewis/description_lewis.html. Retrieved 2008-10-14. 
  189. ^ Loy, William G.; Allan, Stuart; Buckley, Aileen R, and Meacham, James E. (2001). Atlas of Oregon. Eugene, Ore.: University of Oregon Press. pp. 164–65. ISBN 0-87114-101-9. 
  190. ^ "Yakima River and Esquatzel Coulee Basins and the Columbia River from Richland to Kennewick, Water Resources Data-Washington Water Year 2005" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. http://pubs.usgs.gov/wdr/2005/wdr-wa-05-1/pdf/wa00103ADR2005_Figure60.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-16.  Discharge data from gauge 12510500 at Kiona, 29.9 miles (48.1 km) from the mouth, measuring the flow from about 91 percent of the total watershed.
  191. ^ "Yakima Subbasin Plan Overview" (PDF). Northwest Power and Conservation Council. http://www.nwcouncil.org/fw/subbasinplanning/yakima/plan/1_Overview.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-16. 
  192. ^ "Wenatchee River Basin: 12459000 Wenatchee River at Peshastin, WA" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. http://pubs.usgs.gov/wdr/WDR-WA-02-1/data/12459000.2002.sw.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-16. . Discharge data from gauge 12459000 at Peshastin, 21.5 miles (34.6 km) from the mouth, measuring the flow from about 1,000 square miles (2,600 km2) or 77 percent of the total watershed.
  193. ^ Water Data Report WA-05-1, chapter Okanagan River Basin. Retrieved on 2007-04-20. Discharge data taken at Malott, Washington, 17 miles (27 km) from the mouth, measuring the flow from about 8,080 square miles (20,900 km2), about 97 percent of the total watershed.
  194. ^ "Rivers". Natural Resources Canada. http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/rivers.html. Retrieved 2008-09-10. 
  195. ^ "Water-Data Report 2007: 12404500 Kettle River near Laurier, WA" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. 2007. http://wdr.water.usgs.gov/wy2007/pdfs/12404500.2007.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-18.  Discharge data from a gauge near Laurier, 29.71 miles (47.81 km) from the mouth, measuring the flow from about 3,800 square miles (9,800 km2), about 90 percent of the total watershed.
  196. ^ Upper Columbia Subbasin Overview, Section 29, p. 8; Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Retrieved on 2008-09-16.
  197. ^ "Water-Data Report 2007: 14142500 Sandy River Below Bull Run River, near Bull Run, OR" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. 2008. http://wdr.water.usgs.gov/wy2007/pdfs/14142500.2007.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-19.  Discharge data from a gauge near Bull Run, 18.4 miles (29.6 km) from the mouth, measuring the flow from about 436 square miles (1,130 km2), about 86 percent of the total watershed.
  198. ^ Taylor, Barbara (December 1998). "Salmon and Steelhead Runs and Related Events of the Sandy River Basin - A Historical Perspective" (PDF). Portland General Electric. http://www.portlandgeneral.com/community_environment/initiatives/protecting_fish/sandy_river/docs/sandy_river_history_full.pdf. Retrieved 2010-12-18. 
  199. ^ "Water-Data Report 2007: 14048000 John Day River at McDonald Ferry, OR" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. 2007. http://wdr.water.usgs.gov/wy2007/pdfs/14048000.2007.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-19.  Discharge data from a gauge at McDonald Ferry, 20.9 miles (33.6 km) from the mouth, measuring the flow from about 7,580 square miles (19,600 km2), about 95 percent of the total watershed.
  200. ^ Powell, Russ; Delano, Kenneth (2004). "John Day River Subbasin Fish Habitat Enhancement Project" (PDF). Bonneville Power Administration. http://pisces.bpa.gov/release/documents/documentviewer.aspx?pub=H00005632-3.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-18. 

Further reading

External links

v · d · eColumbia River
Provinces and
states traversed		 Men sit on scattered wooden platforms surrounding a waterfall that is about 25 feet (7 meters) high and 250 feet (70 meters) wide. The men hold long poles attached to nets that are in the water.
Lists
Geology and Geography
History
Ecology and culture
v · d · eHydrography of British Columbia
Rivers
Alsek · Columbia · Fraser · Liard · Nechako · Peace · Quesnel · Skeena · Shuswa · Stikine · Thompson · more...
Lakes
Atlin · Harrison · Nechako · Okanagan · Shuswap · Tagish · Teslin · Williston · more...
Coastal features
v · d · eWatersheds in Portland, Oregon
Major
Columbia River · Willamette River
 Two stream channels join below land covered with trees and shrubs and protected by a stone wall. The wall, about six feet (two meters) high, extends across the right-hand stream channel, which plunges over the wall. Downstream, the combined channels are about 30 feet (9 meters) wide and turbulent.
Minor
Balch Creek · Columbia Slough · Crystal Springs Creek · Fanno Creek · Johnson Creek · Stephens Creek · Tryon Creek
Drinking water
Bull Run River · Portland Water Bureau



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