It is not known how long it took the river to break through the barrier; estimates range from several months to several years. At the beginning of the 20th century, roughly 75 percent of the Columbia's flow occurred in the summer, between April and September. There are also high levels of mollusk endemism. The river defines that border for the final 309 miles (497 km) of its journey. The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: Wimahl or Wimal; Sahaptin: Nch’i-Wàna or Nchi wana; Sinixt dialect swah'netk'qhu) is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. [45] The Canadian portion of the Columbia Basin outlines the traditional homelands of the Canadian Kootenay–Ktunaxa. [186], 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. Research in the mid-1980s found that juvenile salmon were suffering substantially from the predatory pikeminnow,[153] and in 1990, in the interest of protecting salmon, a "bounty" program was established to reward anglers for catching pikeminnow. Columbia River Pasco to Richland . The longest, lasting 12 years in the mid‑19th century, reduced the river's flow to 20 percent below average. [76], 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. [59] Natives drew fish from the Columbia at several major sites, which also served as trading posts. Columbia River, largest river flowing into the Pacific Ocean from North America. Funding for this site is provided by the cooperators / programs below: US Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District; Station Notes. The mouth of is Pacific Ocean at Clatsop County (OR) and Pacific … 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 British Columbia as the Columbia Valley, then northwest to Golden and into Kinbasket Lake. 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. Date 1892. [20] Major facilities (& their services) along these rivers are indicated on the charts. At one time, the Columbia was one of the top salmon-producing river systems in the world. [150], Dams interrupt the migration of anadromous fish. Broughton formally claimed the river, its drainage basin, and the nearby coast for Britain. [77] He named Cape Disappointment for the non-existent river, not realizing the cape marks the northern edge of the river's mouth. An extensive system of locks allowed ships and barges to pass easily from one reservoir to the next. [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,[19] and the Canadian part of its basin ranks 13th in size among Canadian basins. [47] The river is known as swah'netk'qhu by the Sinixt people, who live in the area of the Arrow Lakes in the river's upper reaches in Canada. Fishing spots and depth contours layers are available in most Lake maps. Plutonium for nuclear weapons was produced for decades at the Hanford Site, which is now the most contaminated nuclear site in the US. Many different Native Americans and First Nations peoples have a historical and continuing presence on the Columbia. Snake River depth map (nautical chart) The marine chart shows water depth and hydrology on an interactive map. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Columbia River. 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 Canada–US border; the project had grown from a local New Deal relief measure to a major national project. Vegetation varies widely, ranging from western hemlock and western redcedar in the moist regions to sagebrush in the arid regions. NOTE: Use the official, full scale NOAA nautical chart for real navigation whenever possible. In 1902, the United States Bureau of Reclamation was established to aid in the economic development of arid western states. This popular river atlas contains large-scale reproductions of NOAA charts for the Columbia River from its mouth to the Tri-Cities, the Snake River from the Tri-Cities to Lewiston, Idaho, and the Willamette River from Portland to Newberg. Historian Derek Hayes claims that "It is a near certainty that Japanese or Chinese people arrived on the northwest coast long before any European. The source of the Snake River is the Yellowstone Rocky Mountain National Park, Wyoming. What are Nautical Charts? [15] The river continues west, bending sharply to the north-northwest near Portland and Vancouver, Washington, at the Willamette River confluence. In 1891 the Columbia was dredged to enhance shipping. European and American vessels explored the coastal area around the mouth of the river in the late 18th century, trading with local natives. This chart display or derived product can be used as a planning or analysis tool and may not be used as a navigational aid. They have been used for transportation since ancient times, linking the region's many cultural groups. The Columbia River became much of the border between the U.S. territories of Oregon and Washington. In that sense, it is reliable. 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. The Columbia drains an area of about 258,000 square miles (670,000 km2). [161] Environmental advocates have called for the removal of certain dams in the Columbia system in the years since. Before being released back into the river, the used water was held in large tanks known as retention basins for up to six hours. By 1957, the eight plutonium production reactors at Hanford dumped a daily average of 50,000 curies of radioactive material into the Columbia. [85] 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. [65] The annual catch by natives has been estimated at 42 million pounds (19,000 t). [100] The Celilo Canal, bypassing Celilo Falls, opened to river traffic in 1915. Atmospheric conditions block the flow of moisture in summer, which is generally dry except for occasional thunderstorms in the interior. Additional Data and Information.--Station data inventory. [183] The Columbia River estuary exports high rates of nutrients into the Pacific Ocean;[184] with the exception of nitrogen, which is delivered into the estuary by ocean upwelling sources. This river has 14 hydroelectric dams, making it the largest hydroelectric power producer in the nation. [147], Salmon populations declined dramatically after the establishment of canneries in 1867. 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. As the North American continent moved westward, the Farallon Plate subducted under its western margin. [180][181], Nutrients dynamics vary in the river basin from the headwaters to the main river and dams, to finally reaching the Columbia River estuary and ocean. Bruce Babbitt Dreams of Razing Some of Them to Transform Rivers and the Interior Department. 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. In 2007, the destruction of the Marmot Dam on the Sandy River was the first dam removal in the system. On the advice of his officers, he did not explore it, as he was short-staffed and the current was strong. [189][190], In 2016, over eight million people lived within the Columbia's drainage basin. The legislation was attributed to the efforts of Oregon Senator Charles McNary, Washington Senator Clarence Dill, and Oregon Congressman Charles Martin, among others. Some of the Columbia and Snake River dams employ fish ladders, which are effective to varying degrees at allowing these fish to travel upstream. [192] The associated triple divide points are Commissary Ridge North, Wyoming,[197] and Sproats Meadow Northwest, Oregon. But Businesses Dependent on Cheap Water and Power Fear the Added Expense and Predict Job Losses", "Plan to Save Salmon Roils Northwest; Change Seen Causing Ripples in Economy", "An Overview of Hanford and Radiation Health Effects", "Radiation Flowed 200 Miles to Sea, Study Finds", "Columbia River Basin: A National Priority", "Bush Change to NW Forest Plan Would Ease Logging", "Fate and Transport of Nitrogen | Environmental Assessment Program | Washington State Department of Ecology, Puget Sound", "Natural Sources of Nitrogen | Sources and Pathways | Environmental Assessment Program | Washington State Department of Ecology", "Why Protect Salmon – Wild Salmon Center", "Disrupting biogeochemical cycles – Consequences of damming", "Human Population Impacts on Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife", "Columbia River Water Management Report, Chapter 2", "Continental Divides in North Dakota and North America", "Water-resources data for the United States, Water Year 2007", "USGS Water Resources of the United States: Boundary Descriptions and Names of Regions, Subregions, Accounting Units and Cataloging Units", "Balance of Power: Hydroelectric Development in Southeastern British Columbia", "Pend Oreille, Kettle, and Colville River Basins, and the Columbia River from the International Boundary to the confluence with the Spokane River", "Water-data report 2007: USGS 14243000 Cowlitz River at Castle Rock, WA", "Boundary Descriptions and Names of Regions", "volume II – Subbasin Plan Chapter G – NF and EF Lewis", "Description: Lewis River Drainage, Mount St. Helens, Washington", "Yakima River and Esquatzel Coulee Basins and the Columbia River from Richland to Kennewick, Water Resources Data-Washington Water Year 2005", "Wenatchee River Basin: 12459000 Wenatchee River at Peshastin, WA", "Water-Data Report 2007: 12404500 Kettle River near Laurier, WA", "Water-Data Report 2007: 14142500 Sandy River Below Bull Run River, near Bull Run, OR", "Salmon and Steelhead Runs and Related Events of the Sandy River Basin – A Historical Perspective", "Water-Data Report 2007: 14048000 John Day River at McDonald Ferry, OR", "John Day River Subbasin Fish Habitat Enhancement Project", "Articles in the Oregon Historical Quarterly Relating to the Columbia River, Settlement of Astoria, Lewis and Clark Expedition", Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, "Timeline of exploration of the Columbia", University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Tollman and Canaris Photographs, Bonneville Slide/Bridge of the Gods land bridge, Steamboats of the upper Columbia and Kootenay Rivers, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Columbia_River&oldid=999955175, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles containing Wasco-Wishram-language text, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2008, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the New International Encyclopedia, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Big River, the River of the West, River Oregon, This page was last edited on 12 January 2021, at 20:11. 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