The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river forms in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. It 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 long, and its largest tributary is the Snake River. Its drainage basin is roughly the size of France and extends into seven states of the United States and one Canadian province. The fourth-largest river in the United States by volume, the Columbia has the greatest flow of any river entering the Pacific outside of Asia, and the 36th greatest discharge of any river in the world.
Bonneville Lock and Dam consists of several run-of-the-river dam structures that together complete a span of the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington at River Mile 146.1. The dam is located 40 miles (64 km) east of Portland, Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge. The primary functions of Bonneville Lock and Dam are electrical power generation and river navigation. The dam was built and is managed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. At the time of its construction in the 1930s it was the largest water impoundment project of its type in the nation, able to withstand flooding on an unprecedented scale. Electrical power generated at Bonneville is distributed by the Bonneville Power Administration. Bonneville Dam is named for Army Capt. Benjamin Bonneville, an early explorer credited with charting much of the Oregon Trail. The Bonneville Dam Historic District was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1987.
The John Day River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 284 miles (457 km) long, in northeastern Oregon in the United States. It is known as the Mah-Hah River by the Cayuse people. Undammed along its entire length, the river is the fourth longest free-flowing river in the contiguous United States. There is extensive use of its waters for irrigation. Its course furnishes habitat for diverse species, including wild steelhead and Chinook salmon runs. However, the steelhead populations are under federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections, and the Chinook salmon have been proposed for such protection.
The Chief Joseph Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River, 2.4 km (1.5 mi) upriver from Bridgeport, Washington. The dam is 877 km (545 mi) upriver from the mouth of the Columbia at Astoria, Oregon. It is operated by the USACE Chief Joseph Dam Project Office and the electricity is marketed by the Bonneville Power Administration.
McNary Dam is a 1.4-mile (2.2-km) long concrete gravity run-of-the-river dam which spans the Columbia River. It joins Umatilla County, Oregon with Benton County, Washington, 292 miles (470 km) upriver from the mouth of the Columbia. It is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' McNary Lock and Dam office. The dam is located a mile (2 km) east of the town of Umatilla, Oregon, and 8 miles (13 km) north of Hermiston, Oregon. The dam was originally planned to be named Umatilla Dam, but the Flood Control Act of 1945 renamed the dam in honor of Senator Charles L. McNary of Oregon, who had died the previous year.
The Dalles Lock and Dam is a concrete-gravity run-of-the-river dam spanning the Columbia River, two miles (3 km) east of the city of The Dalles, Oregon, United States. It joins Wasco County, Oregon with Klickitat County, Washington, 192 miles (309 km) upriver from the mouth of the Columbia near Astoria, Oregon. The closest towns on the Washington side are Dallesport and Wishram.
Celilo Falls was a tribal fishing area on the Columbia River, just east of the Cascade Mountains, on what is today the border between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. The name refers to a series of cascades and waterfalls on the river, as well as to the native settlements and trading villages that existed there in various configurations for 15,000 years. Celilo was the oldest continuously inhabited community on the North American continent until 1957, when the falls and nearby settlements were submerged by the construction of The Dalles Dam. In 2019, there were calls by tribal leaders to restore the falls.
The McAlpine Locks and Dam are a set of locks and a hydroelectric dam at the Falls of the Ohio River at Louisville, Kentucky. They are located at mile point 606.8, and control a 72.9 miles (117.3 km) long navigation pool. The locks and their associated canal were the first major engineering project on the Ohio River, completed in 1830 as the Louisville and Portland Canal, designed to allow shipping traffic to navigate through the Falls of the Ohio.
Little Goose Lock and Dam is a hydroelectric, concrete, run-of-the-river dam in the northwest United States, on the lower Snake River in southeast Washington. At the dam, the river is the border between Columbia and Whitman counties; it is nine miles (14 km) northeast of Starbuck and 25 miles (40 km) north of Dayton.
Lower Monumental Lock and Dam is a hydroelectric, concrete, run-of-the-river dam in the northwest United States. Located on the lower Snake River in southeast Washington, it bridges Franklin and Walla Walla counties; it is six miles (10 km) south of Kahlotus and 43 miles (70 km) north of Walla Walla.
Ice Harbor Lock and Dam is a hydroelectric, concrete gravity run-of-the-river dam in the northwest United States. On the lower Snake River in southeastern Washington, it bridges Walla Walla and Franklin counties. Located eight miles (13 km) northeast of Burbank and twelve miles (19 km) east of Pasco, river mile 9.7, the dam's name comes from a tiny bay in the river where boats once tied up to wait for upstream ice-jams to break up.
Dworshak Dam is a concrete gravity dam in the western United States, on the North Fork of the Clearwater River in north central Idaho. In Clearwater County, the dam is located approximately four miles (6 km) northwest of Orofino and impounds the Dworshak Reservoir for flood control and hydroelectricity generation. By capacity, the reservoir is the largest in Idaho and fourth-largest in the Pacific Northwest.
Guntersville Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Marshall County, in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is one of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s as part of a New Deal era initiative to create a continuous navigation channel on the entire length of the river and bring flood control and economic development to the region. The dam impounds the Guntersville Lake of 67,900 acres (27,500 ha), and its tailwaters feed into Wheeler Lake.
The Chickamauga Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. The dam is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s as part of a New Deal era initiative to improve navigation and bring flood control and economic development to the Tennessee Valley. The dam impounds the 36,240-acre (14,670 ha) Chickamauga Lake and feeds into Nickajack Lake. The dam and associated infrastructure were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
Hells Canyon Dam is a concrete gravity dam in the western United States, on the Snake River in Hells Canyon along the Idaho-Oregon border. At river mile 247, the dam impounds Hells Canyon Reservoir; its spillway elevation is 1,680 feet (512 m) above sea level.
Lost Creek Lake is a reservoir located on the Rogue River in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. The lake is impounded by William L. Jess Dam which was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1977 for flood control and fisheries enhancement. The lake and dam were the first completed elements of the multi-purpose Rogue River Basin Project, consisting of Lost Creek Lake, Applegate Lake and the Elk Creek project. The lake is located approximately 27 miles (43 km) northeast of Medford.
Celilo Canal was a canal in Oregon connecting two points of the Columbia River, just east of The Dalles.
Lake Umatilla is a 110-mile (177 km) long reservoir on the Columbia River in the United States, between the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. It was created in 1971 with the construction of John Day Dam, and stretches upstream to the McNary Dam. It lies in parts of Sherman, Gilliam, Morrow, and Umatilla counties in Oregon, and Klickitat and Benton counties in Washington.
Castle Rock was a historic unincorporated community, post office, and railway station in Morrow County, Oregon, United States. They were named for a low bluff along the Columbia River that was said to look like a castle as seen from the river.
Depth of John Day Dam pool is illustrated by this 1967 photo showing the new UPRR bridge, with old bridges at sites to be submerged below.
The dam and vicinity, taken from the International Space Station on July 4, 2022
Cropped view of the dam on July 4, 2022
