LIFESTYLES
Our glorious
Columbia
1C
WEEKEND, APRIL 18-19, 2015
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
A U.S. flag flies near the Grand Coulee Dam on the Co-
lumbia River in Washington state, with Lake Roosevelt
shown at left. May 26, 2000.
Many lay claim to the Columbia River. Its
basin stretches across seven states, one Canadian
province and through 13 Indian reservations. At
its peak, 116,688,000 gallons of water are poured
every minute from the mouth of the river near
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It’s literally a lifeline for many farmers who
withdraw about 1.5 trillion gallons each growing
season for their crops. This helps grow billions of
dollars worth of produce in the northwest, many
of which are then barged down the river itself to
foreign markets.
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have used the river and its tributaries as a source of
food for centuries and both recreational anglers and
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There are 14 dams with the capacity to produce
around 23,000 megawatts of energy. Five of these
churn on the Oregon/Washington border and are
owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, providing
an ever-renewing source of electricity to millions
of people.
This crossroad of ecology, commerce and
recreation can be a tricky path to navigate. But the
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AP photo by Rick Bowmer
A chinook salmon, second from the bottom,
swims with sockeye salmon at the Bonneville
Dam fish-counting window near North Bonneville,
Wash., on the Columbia River. June 27, 2012
AP photo by Elaine Thompson
Circular irrigated fields line the Columbia River on the Oregon-Washington border near Umatilla. Congressional
delegations from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana are demanding that the Obama administration begin
negotiations with Canada to update a landmark treaty that governs the operation of dams — such as the Mc-
Nary dam shown in this photo — on the Columbia, which is North America’s fourth-largest river. July 11, 2006
AP photo by Rick Bowmer
The Columbia River flows near the John Day Dam,
east of The Dalles. June 3, 2011
AP Photo/Don Ryan
A bicyclist glides past a background scene of puffy clouds and
blue sky reflected in silky smooth Columbia River waters in
Portland. March 7, 2013.
AP photo by Rick Bowmer
Water flows through the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River near Cascade Locks. June 3, 2011
AP Photo/Don Ryan,
The Columbia River flows past the Vista House on Crown
Point, at right near, Corbett. March 7, 2012.
“Green Douglas firs where the waters cut through,
Down her wild mountains and canyons she flew.
Canadian Northwest to the ocean so blue,
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.”
— Woody Guthrie, ”Roll on Columbia”