Regional Talk > Extended Pacific Northwest > Columbia River

Columbia River

Photo 1: Fort Cascades trail (Bonneville dam)

Photo 2: Fort Cascades trail (Bonneville dam)

Photo 3: Boat dock near Bonneville dam

Photo 4: Boat dock near Beacon Rock (west of Bonneville dam)

Very nice!

Thanks for sharing.

reply to BillMh
Looks like it was higher for a while (based on the gravel in the last pic.

some years they are desperate for more water, this year everybody has way too much.

reply to BillMh

Photo 5: Washougal Dock

Photo 6: Washougal Cottonwood Beach

Photo 7: Near Washougal Cottonwood Beach

reply to BillMh
Nice pictures thanks for sharing.

Now just imagine what that river would be like right now without the dams.

Actually, right now this is happening *because* of the dams
»news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110602/ap_···flooding

quote:

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At Grand Coulee Dam, gigantic cascades of water are being released to make room for spring snowmelt that is expected to fill the reservoir. A constant roar emanates from the structure as surging water churns the Columbia River below the dam into a white froth.

The dam is 500 feet tall, a mile across, and one of the largest concrete structures on Earth. It is the centerpiece of a network of dams built across the Pacific Northwest during the New Deal era that essentially act as a giant plumbing system for the region — and these days the pipes are overflowing.

The dam is releasing so much water that millions of fish have been put in jeopardy. The heavy flows through dam spillways capture dangerous levels of nitrogen from the air, and the gas bubbles give fish the equivalent of the bends. A fish farm near the Grand Coulee Dam says an estimated 100,000 fish are dying every day, and has gone to court to slow down the flows.

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reply to BillMh
tshirt , sorry to say, not gravel, just fallen stuff from a tree.

Brazbit , don't want to imagine that.

reply to BillMh
River finally gone down. Cottonwood beach is still somewhat flooded and other spot not far from cottonwood beach is walkable, but sure stinks, be a while before everything gets back to normal.