Knowledge you can walk. Read the idea below, then step up to the general, across to peers or down to the specific.
Physical
Columbia River Gorge
The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon up to 4,000 feet deep where the Columbia River cuts through the Cascade Range between Washington and Oregon.
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The idea
The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River that forms the boundary between Washington to the north and Oregon to the south. It is up to 4,000 feet deep and stretches for over 80 miles as the river winds west through the Cascade Range. It is the only route through the Cascades that boats can travel. It is also the only water link between the Columbia Plateau and the Pacific Ocean, so highways and railroads run along both sides.
The gorge began forming roughly 17 to 12 million years ago, while the Cascade Range was taking shape. Its steep walls were cut most dramatically at the end of the last ice age, when the Missoula Floods tore through and left many layers of volcanic rock exposed. Within just 80 miles, the land changes from wet rain forest to dry grassland. The west gets up to 100 inches of rain and snow a year, and the east only 10 to 15 inches.
People have lived in the gorge for over 13,000 years, and Native Americans traveled through it to trade at Celilo Falls. The gorge is known for its many waterfalls, with over 90 on the Oregon side alone, including the 620-foot Multnomah Falls. Strong winds funneled through the deep cut make it a popular place for windsurfing and kiteboarding.
Check yourself
Question 1 of 3
About how deep is the gorge at its deepest?
Composition
what it's made of
- Canyon walls — Steep cliffs, up to 4,000 feet high, cut most dramatically by the Missoula Floods.
- Columbia River — The river that carved the gorge and forms the state line between Oregon and Washington.
- Waterfalls — Over 90 falls on the Oregon side alone, many along the Historic Columbia River Highway.
- Western rain forest — Wet forest of bigleaf maple, Douglas fir and western hemlock at the gorge's western end.
- Eastern grasslands — Dry, open grassland at the eastern end, with occasional pockets of pine.
- Transportation corridor — Interstate 84, U.S. Route 30, Washington State Route 14 and railroads on both banks.
Connection
how it relates
Change
how and why it evolves
- Past
- In 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition used the gorge to reach the Pacific. Settlers later added steamboat lines and railroads, and the Columbia River Highway, built in the early 20th century, was the first major paved highway in the Pacific Northwest. Dams submerged Celilo Falls in 1957. In fall 2017, the Eagle Creek Fire burned there for three months and consumed almost 50,000 acres.
- Now
- Since November 1986, when Congress made it the second U.S. National Scenic Area instead of a national park, the gorge has been managed by the Columbia River Gorge Commission and the U.S. Forest Service.
- Next
- Balancing wildfire recovery, heavy visitor traffic and the needs of local towns with protecting the scenery will probably remain the scenic area's main challenge.