The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) deep, the canyon stretches for over eighty miles (130 km) as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the state of Washington to the north and Oregon to the south. Extending roughly from the confluence of the Columbia with the Deschutes River in the east down to the eastern reaches of the Portland metropolitan area, the water gap furnishes the only navigable route through the Cascades and the only water connection between the Columbia Plateau and the Pacific Ocean. It is thus that the routes of Interstate 84, U.S. Route 30, Washington State Route 14, and railroad tracks on both sides run through the gorge.
Multnomah Falls is a waterfall located on Multnomah Creek in the Columbia River Gorge, east of Troutdale, between Corbett and Dodson, Oregon, United States. The waterfall is accessible from the Historic Columbia River Highway and Interstate 84. Spanning two tiers on basalt cliffs, it is the tallest waterfall in the state of Oregon at 620 ft (189 m) in height. The Multnomah Creek Bridge, built in 1914, crosses below the falls, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Historic Columbia River Highway is an approximately 75-mile-long (121 km) scenic highway in the U.S. state of Oregon between Troutdale and The Dalles, built through the Columbia River Gorge between 1913 and 1922. As the first planned scenic roadway in the United States, it has been recognized in numerous ways, including being listed on the National Register of Historic Places, being designated as a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, being designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers, and being considered a "destination unto itself" as an All-American Road by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. The historic roadway was bypassed by the present Columbia River Highway No. 2 from the 1930s to the 1950s, leaving behind the old two-lane road. The road is now mostly owned and maintained by the state through the Oregon Department of Transportation as the Historic Columbia River Highway No. 100 or the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department as the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail.
Crown Point is a basalt promontory on the Columbia River Gorge and an associated state park in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in eastern Multnomah County, approximately 15 miles (24 km) east of Portland. Crown Point is one of the scenic lookouts along the Historic Columbia River Highway, providing a panoramic view of part of the Columbia River. It stands 733 feet (223 m) above the river and is the remains of a lava flow that filled the ancestral channel of the Columbia River 14 to 17 million years ago. The Point was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1971.
Wahkeena Falls is a 242-foot (74 m) waterfall in the Columbia River Gorge in the state of Oregon.
Oneonta Gorge is a scenic gorge located in the Columbia River Gorge area of the American state of Oregon. The U.S. Forest Service has designated it as a botanical area because of the unique aquatic and woodland plants that grow there. Exposed walls of 25-million-year-old basalt are home to a wide variety of ferns, mosses, hepatics, and lichens, many of which grow only in the Columbia River Gorge. Oneonta Gorge with its 50 species of wildflowers, flowering shrubs and trees has been described as "one of the true dramatic chasms in the state." The Oneonta Gorge Creek Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Horsetail Falls is a waterfall located on Horsetail Creek along the Columbia River Gorge in Multnomah County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. The falls drop over a cut over the columnar basalt cliff within the Oneonta Gorge. It is one of the waterfalls along the Columbia River Highway's waterfall corridor.
Latourell Falls is a waterfall along the Columbia River Gorge in the U.S. state of Oregon, within Guy W. Talbot State Park.
Eagle Creek is a creek located in Hood River County, Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge. A tributary of the Columbia River, the creek flows for approximately 15 miles (24 km) from the Thrush Pond between Eagle Butte and Tanner Butte to its mouth near Bonneville Dam. The East Fork Eagle Creek is a major tributary that begins at Wahtum Lake and joins the main stem approximately 2/3 the way between the Thrush Pond and the Columbia River, separated by Indian Mountain.
Shepperd's Dell is a small canyon in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, located at 45.54833°N 122.195°W which is less than one-third mile southeast of Rooster Rock State Park. The Shepperd's Dell Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Larch Mountain is an extinct volcano near Portland, Oregon. The name is misleading, as no western larch can be found there. It received that name when early lumbermen sold the noble fir wood as larch. The peak can be reached between May and November on paved Larch Mountain Road, 16 miles (26 km) east of Corbett, Oregon, although the road is closed during the winter and spring months. The road leading to Larch Mountain from the Historic Columbia River Highway is 14 miles long, which closed at milepost 10 from Nov. through late May or early June due to snow.
The Yacolt Burn is the collective name for dozens of fires in Washington state and Oregon occurring between September 8 and September 12, 1902, causing 38 deaths in the Lewis River area, at least nine deaths by fire in Wind River and 18 deaths in the Columbia River Gorge.
Bridal Veil is a virtual ghost town located in Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. It was established in the 1880s during a logging boom by a logging company as it harvested timber on nearby Larch Mountain to be a company mill town around a sawmill. It had a close relationship with the logging town of Palmer for the first 50 years of its history. As of November 2011, all that remains of the town is a post office and a cemetery. The site is located near the west end of the Columbia River Gorge.
Wahclella Falls is a waterfall along Tanner Creek, a tributary of the Columbia River, Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. It enters the river within the Columbia River Gorge.
Multnomah Creek is a 5-mile-long (8.0 km) stream in northern Oregon. Multnomah Creek's source is on Larch Mountain in the Mount Hood National Forest and its waters flow north to the Columbia River Gorge, over Multnomah Falls into Benson Lake and then the Columbia River. The waterfall is accessible from the Historic Columbia River Highway and Interstate 84. The two drop waterfall is the tallest in the state of Oregon at 620 ft (189 m) in height.
Samuel Christopher Lancaster was an engineer and landscape architect, best known for his work on the Columbia River Highway.
Coopey Falls is a waterfall on Coopey Creek in the Columbia River Gorge, on the Historic Columbia River Highway in Multnomah County, Oregon. The falls is a horsetail waterfall with a drop of 150 feet (46 m).
Eagle Creek is a tributary of the Columbia River in Multnomah and Hood River counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. It cuts through a narrow canyon in its 3,200 feet (980 m) descent to the Columbia River Gorge and is known for its concentration of 13 waterfalls in about 5 miles (8.0 km) distance. Eight major falls are on Eagle Creek and the East Fork Eagle Creek itself, while five are on its tributaries.
Charles Henry Purcell was one of the most distinguished civil engineers in the United States during the 20th century. He was the chief engineer of the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge, which was his most notable design. The American Society of Civil Engineers selected the Bay Bridge as one of the seven modern civil engineering wonders of the United States in 1955. As California Director of Public Works, he oversaw construction of the first freeway in the American West. He also oversaw design of the first stack interchange in the world, the Four Level Interchange just north of downtown Los Angeles. He played an instrumental role on the National Interregional Highway Committee which persuaded Congress to authorize the Interstate Highway System. He worked primarily in the public sector on the United States west coast throughout his life.
The Eagle Creek Fire was a destructive wildfire in the Columbia River Gorge, largely in the U.S. state of Oregon, with smaller spot-fires in Washington. The fire was started on September 2, 2017, by a 15-year-old boy igniting fireworks during a burn ban. The fire burned 50,000 acres, and burned for three months, before being declared completely contained. As late as May 29, 2018, it was still found smoldering in some areas.
