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Columbia River

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: North American Geography

                           Columbia River
   Columbia River Basin, showing major dams and tributaries

          Columbia River Basin, showing major dams and tributaries

   Origin           Columbia Lake
   Mouth            Pacific Ocean
   Basin countries  United States, Canada
   Length           1,232 miles (2,044 km)
   Source elevation 810 m (2,657 ft)
   Mouth elevation  sea level
   Avg. discharge   262,000 ft³/s
   Basin area       258,000 mi² (415,211 km²)

   The Columbia River (French: fleuve Columbia) is a river situated in
   British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It is
   the largest river in volume flowing into the Pacific Ocean from the
   Western Hemisphere, and is the second largest by volume in North
   America behind the Mississippi. In rare years, the river’s flow may
   actually exceed that of the Mississippi. The mean total flow is 262,000
   ft³/sec (7400 m³/sec). It is the largest hydroelectric power producing
   river in North America. From its headwaters to the Pacific Ocean it
   flows 1,232 miles (2,044 km), and drains 258,000 square miles (415,211
   km²). Because of its large water volume, it has the nickname “the
   Mighty Columbia.” It is four times the volume of the Colorado River,
   fifteen times the volume of the Sacramento River, and over 100 times
   the volume of the Rio Grande River . The river was named after Capt.
   Robert Gray’s ship Columbia Rediviva, the first to travel up the river.

Geography

   Columbia Lake forms the Columbia’s headwaters in the Canadian Rockies
   of southern British Columbia. The river then flows through Windermere
   Lake and the town of Invermere, then northwest to Golden and into
   Kinbasket Lake. The river then turns (the “Big Bend”) south through
   Revelstoke Lake and the Arrow Lakes to the BC– Washington border.

   The river then flows through the east-central portion of Washington
   State. The last 300 miles (480 km) of the Columbia form the
   Washington-Oregon boundary. The river goes into the Pacific Ocean at
   Ilwaco, Washington and Astoria, Oregon forming the Columbia Bar.

   For its first 200 miles (320 km) the Columbia flows northwest; it then
   bends to the south, crossing from Canada into the United States, where
   the river meets the Clark Fork. The Clark Fork River begins near Butte,
   Montana and flows through western Montana before entering Pend Oreille
   Lake. Water draining from the lake forms the Pend Oreille River, which
   flows across the Idaho panhandle to Washington’s northeastern corner
   where it meets the northern Canadian fork.

   The river then runs south-southwest through the Columbia Plateau,
   changing to a southeasterly direction near the confluence of the
   Wenatchee River in central Washington. The river continues southeast,
   past The Gorge Amphitheatre (a prominent concert venue in the
   Northwest), and then past the Hanford Nuclear Reservation just before
   it reaches the confluence with the Snake River. This part of the river
   is called the Hanford Reach and is the only part of the river in the
   United States that is free-flowing, unimpeded by dams and not a tidal
   estuary. The Columbia then makes a sharp bend to the west where it
   begins to form the Washington-Oregon border.

   Near the town of Hood River, Oregon, the river begins cutting through
   the Cascade Mountains at the entrance to the Columbia River Gorge. The
   west side of the gorge is marked by Crown Point. Constant winds of 15
   to 35 mph (25 to 55 km/h) blow through this wide straight gorge. It was
   here in Hood River County, Oregon that windsurfing was originated.

   The river continues west with one small north-northwesterly-directed
   stretch near Portland; Vancouver, Washington; and the confluence with
   the Willamette River. On this sharp bend the river’s flow slows
   considerably and it drops the sediment that would normally form a
   delta.
   Columbia River Gorge, photographed from Angel's Rest
   Enlarge
   Columbia River Gorge, photographed from Angel's Rest

Major tributaries

   These are the largest tributaries of the Columbia. For a detailed list
   of more than forty tributaries, see Tributaries of the Columbia River.
       Tributary       Discharge*
   Snake River        56,900 (1611)
   Willamette River   35,660 (1010)
   Kootenai River     30,650 (867)
   Pend Oreille River 27,820 (788)
   Cowlitz River      9,200 (261)
   Spokane River      6,700 (190)
   Deschutes River    6,000 (170)
   Lewis River        4,800 (136)
   Yakima River       3,540 (100)
   Wenatchee River    3,220 (91)
   Okanogan River     3,050 (86)
   Kettle River       2,930 (83)
   Sandy River        2,260 (64)

   * Average discharge, cubic feet per second ( cubic meters per second)

Missoula Floods

   The Columbia River and its drainage basin has experienced some of the
   world’s greatest known floods. Towards the end of the last ice age, the
   rupturing of ice dams at glacial Lake Missoula resulted in discharge
   rates ten times the combined flow of all the rivers of the world. Water
   levels resulting from the Missoula Floods have been estimated to be
   1250 feet (381 m) at the Wallula Gap, 830 feet (253 m) at Bonneville
   Dam, and 400 feet (122 m) over current day Portland, Oregon. In
   addition to their temporary inundation of the lower Columbia basin,
   these floods are responsible for many geological features still visible
   on the Columbia Plateau.

History

   Cascade on the Columbia River
   Enlarge
   Cascade on the Columbia River

   In 1775, Bruno de Heceta became the first European to sight the mouth
   of the Columbia River, naming it Bahía de la Asunción. On May 11, 1792,
   Captain Robert Gray became the first European to sail into the Columbia
   River. Gray traveled to the Pacific Northwest to trade for fur in a
   privately owned vessel named Columbia; he named the river after the
   ship. Gray’s discovery of the Columbia established a stronger belief
   that Americans had more of a “right” to the Oregon Country, which was
   also claimed by Russia, Great Britain, Spain, and other nations.

   French explorers called the Columbia River “the river of storms,”
   ouragan, which is a possible origin of the name “Oregon.” Other
   possibilities have been suggested based on words from French and
   Spanish (since the region was explored by their nationals), but an
   official origin of the name is not known.

   David Thompson spent the winter of 1807–08 at Kootenae House near the
   source of the Columbia at present day Invermere, British Columbia.

   Lewis and Clark’s overland expedition explored the vast, unmapped lands
   west of the Missouri River. On the last stretch of their expedition
   they traveled down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. The
   expedition led the way in settling the west.

   In 1825, on behalf of the Hudson's Bay Company, Dr. John McLoughlin
   established Fort Vancouver (currently Vancouver, Washington) on the
   banks of the Columbia as a fur trading headquarters in the region. The
   fort was by far the largest western settlement of its time. Every year
   ships would come from London (via the Pacific) to drop off supplies and
   trade goods in exchange for the furs. For many settlers the fort became
   the last stop on the Oregon Trail to buy supplies and land before
   starting their homestead. Because of its access to the Columbia river,
   Fort Vancouver’s influence reached from Alaska to California and from
   the Rocky Mountains to the Hawaiian Islands.

   On February 13, 1980, $5,800 (in bundles of $20 bills) was found by a
   family on a picnic five miles northwest of Vancouver, Washington on the
   banks of the Columbia River. The money is believed by FBI to be part of
   the 1971 Hijacker, D. B. Cooper’s ransom money.

   On July 1, 2003, Christopher Swain of Portland, Oregon, became the
   first person to swim the Columbia River's entire length.
   'Columbia River, Cascade Mountains, Oregon (1876) by Vincent Colyer
   (oil on canvas)
   Enlarge
   'Columbia River, Cascade Mountains, Oregon (1876) by Vincent Colyer
   (oil on canvas)

Hydroelectric dams

   The mainstream of the Columbia River has 14 dams (3 in Canada, 11 in
   the United States) and 8 locks. Nearly half of all hydroelectricity in
   the United States comes from the Columbia and its tributaries. The
   largest of the 150 hydroelectric projects, the Grand Coulee Dam and the
   Chief Joseph Dam, are also the largest in the United States. The Grand
   Coulee Dam is the third largest hydroelectric dam in the world. The
   dams also provide a secondary benefit in flood control and irrigation.

   On its north-south stretch through Eastern Washington, the Columbia
   spans a large desert created by the Cascade Mountains’ rain shadow. The
   dams provide water for the Columbia Basin Project, one of the most
   extensive irrigation projects in the western United States. The project
   provides water to over 500,000 acres (2,000 km²) of fertile but arid
   lands in central Washington State. Water from the project has
   transformed the region from a wasteland barely able to produce
   subsistence levels of dry-land wheat crops to a major agricultural
   centre. Important crops include apples, potatoes, alfalfa, wheat, corn
   (maize), barley, hops, beans, and sugar beets.
   The path of the Columbia River from Canada to the Pacific
   Enlarge
   The path of the Columbia River from Canada to the Pacific

   Although the dams provide clean, renewable energy, they drastically
   alter the landscape and ecosystem of the river. At one time the
   Columbia was one of the top salmon-producing river systems in the
   world. Previously active fishing sites, like Celilo Falls in the
   eastern Columbia River Gorge highlight the relative decline in fishing
   along the Columbia during the last century. The presence of dams
   coupled with over-fishing has played a major role in the reduction of
   salmon populations. Fish ladders have been installed to help the fish
   journey to spawning waters. Additionally each dam’s reservoir is
   closely regulated by the Bonneville Power Administration to ensure one
   dam is not hoarding water to the detriment of habitat for salmon and
   other fish.

Pollution

   The Hanford Site was established in 1940s as part of the Manhattan
   Project. It is located along the river in southeastern Washington on
   586 mile² (1,520 km²) of some of the most fertile land in North
   America; at the time of its establishment, the area was considered a
   wasteland. The site served as a plutonium production complex with nine
   nuclear reactors and related facilities. Most of the facilities were
   shut down in the 1960s. The site is currently under control of the
   Department of Energy, and is a Superfund site. The Superfund cleanup is
   expected to be completed in 2030.

   EPA studies and state monitoring programs have 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. Many
   governments, communities and citizens have rallied to launch a long
   term and intense recovery effort to restore these remarkable fish.

   Water quality is also an important factor in the survival of other
   wildlife and plants that grow in the Columbia River 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 Basin and have committed to work together to enhance and
   accomplish critical ecosystem restoration efforts. A number of
   important work efforts are currently underway, including Portland
   Harbour in the Lower Basin, Hanford in the Middle Basin and Lake
   Roosevelt in the Upper Basin.

Culture

   Kitesurfing on the Columbia River
   Enlarge
   Kitesurfing on the Columbia River

   With the importance of the Columbia to the Pacific Northwest, it has
   made its way into the culture of the area and the nation. Several
   Indian tribes have a historical and continuing presence on the Columbia
   River, most notably the Sinixt or Lakes people.

   From the Woody Guthrie song “ Roll on, Columbia”:

          Roll on, Columbia, roll on, roll on, Columbia, roll on
          Your power is turning our darkness to dawn
          Roll on, Columbia, roll on.

In the movies

     * Bend of the River (with Jimmy Stewart), has a river boat scene
       filmed on the Columbia River in 1952.
     * In 1967, the episode “Ride the Mountain” of the television series
       Lassie featured the Columbia River Gorge.
     * The Grand Coulee Dam was used in Indiana Jones and the Temple of
       Doom (1984; Harrison Ford).
     * The exterior river boat scenes from the 1994 film Maverick with (
       Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, and James Garner), were shot on the
       Columbia River, in the Columbia River Gorge, near the town of Hood
       River.
     * The dock scene for Snow Falling on Cedars (1999; Ethan Hawke) was
       filmed on the river at Cathlamet, Wahkiakum County, Washington.
     * The rock jetty Free Willy jumps over to gain his freedom is located
       on the Oregon side of the river in the Hammond Boat Basin.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_River"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
