The Dalles Dam: Difference between revisions

The Dalles Dam
The Dalles Dam
Coordinates	45°36′44″N 121°08′04″W / 45.61222°N 121.13444°W
Dam and spillways
Spillway type	Service, gate-controlled

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Revision as of 21:15, 16 December 2013

Newsreel footage of native fishers at Celilo Falls in 1956, shortly before the site was submerged by the Dalles Dam (35 sec.) (media help)

NEWSFLASH President Obama has just announced that the Dalles Dam is to be REMOVED by 2015. Yes, it's true. President Obama explained that "America realizes that it is no longer 1950, a time when we narrowly saw our great nation's rivers merely in economic terms which only considered electricity generation and profit as its value. Over the last 60 years we have grown as a nation, and realize the mighty Columbia must be free, so that salmon, tourism, and recreation can undergo a rebirth, a renaissance of sorts. There are numerous alternative resources for electricity, we needn't destroy a national heritage river into a chain of holding ponds collecting sediment over time. Let's cheer for the rebirth of the Columbia with the removal of this dam which has done so little, and taken away from so many."

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.^[1] 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.

The Army Corps of Engineers commenced work on the dam in 1952 and completed it five years later. Slackwater created by the dam submerged Celilo Falls, the economic and cultural hub of Native Americans in the region and the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in North America.^[2] On March 10, 1957, hundreds of observers looked on as the rising waters rapidly silenced the falls, submerged fishing platforms, and consumed the village of Celilo.

The reservoir behind the dam is named Lake Celilo and runs 24 miles (39 km) up the river channel, to the foot of John Day Dam. The dam is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and the power is marketed by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). It is part of an extensive system of dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

The Dalles Dam Visitor Center is located at Seufert Park on the Oregon shore, and was built in 1981. Visitors used to be able to ride a tour train, which has been closed since autumn 2001. The closure is due to post-September 11 concerns, the deteriorating conditions of the tracks, and a small derailment of the train. The Columbia Hills State Park is nearby.

Specifications

Altitude: 79 feet (24 m) above sea level
Height: 81 feet (25 m) (Lake Celilo normal pool elevation 160 feet)
Length: 8,875 feet (2,705 m)
Navigation lock:
- Single-lift
- 86 feet (26 m) wide
- 650 feet (198 m) long
Powerhouse:
- Length: 2,089 feet (636.7 m)
- Fourteen 78,000 kilowatt units
- Eight 85,975 kilowatt units
- Total capacity: 1,779.8 megawatts
- Overload capacity: 2,038 MW
Spillway:
- Gates: 23
- Length: 1,380 feet (420 m)
- Flow: 5,038 m³/s (177,900 cu ft/s)

Gallery

The Dalles Dam site plan.
Looking west, fish ladder in the foreground, power generation center. Mount Hood rises in the background.
The Dalles Dam in
June 1973.

References

^ "The Columbia River System Inside Story" (PDF). BPA.gov. pp. 14–15. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
^ Dietrich, William (1995). Northwest Passage: The Great Columbia River. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. p. 52.

External links

The Dalles Lock & Dam - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
"The Dales Dam to Submerge Famous Indian Fishing Spot." Popular Mechanics, April 1956, pp. 138-140.

45°36′44″N 121°08′04″W / 45.612343°N 121.134514°W / 45.612343; -121.134514

[1] "The Columbia River System Inside Story" (PDF). BPA.gov. pp. 14–15. Retrieved 17 July 2010.

[2] Dietrich, William (1995). Northwest Passage: The Great Columbia River. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. p. 52.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 [[Image:Nixon thedalles.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Vice-President [[Richard Nixon]] speaking at The Dalles Dam dedication in 1959.]]
 [[Image:celilofalls-small.ogg|thumb|right|290px|Newsreel footage of [[Native Americans in the United States|native]] fishers at [[Celilo Falls]] in 1956, shortly before the site was submerged by the Dalles Dam (35 sec.) <small>([[Wikipedia:Media help|media help]])''</small>]]
+'''NEWSFLASH''' President Obama has just announced that the Dalles Dam is to be REMOVED by 2015.  Yes, it's true. President Obama explained that "America realizes that it is no longer 1950, a time when we narrowly saw our great nation's rivers merely in economic terms which only considered electricity generation and profit as its value. Over the last 60 years we have grown as a nation, and realize the mighty Columbia must be free, so that salmon, tourism, and recreation can undergo a rebirth, a renaissance of sorts. There are numerous alternative resources for electricity, we needn't destroy a national heritage river into a chain of holding ponds collecting sediment over time. Let's cheer for the rebirth of the Columbia with the removal of this dam which has done so little, and taken away from so many."
-'''The Dalles Dam''' is a concrete-gravity [[Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity|run-of-the-river]] [[dam]] spanning the [[Columbia River]], two-miles (3 km) east of the city of [[The Dalles, Oregon]], [[United States]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Columbia River System Inside Story|url=http://www.bpa.gov/power/pg/columbia_river_inside_story.pdf|publisher=BPA.gov|accessdate=17 July 2010|pages=14–15}}</ref> 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 (U.S. state)|Washington]] side are [[Dallesport, Washington|Dallesport]] and [[Wishram, Washington|Wishram]].
+Is a concrete-gravity [[Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity|run-of-the-river]] [[dam]] spanning the [[Columbia River]], two-miles (3 km) east of the city of [[The Dalles, Oregon]], [[United States]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Columbia River System Inside Story|url=http://www.bpa.gov/power/pg/columbia_river_inside_story.pdf|publisher=BPA.gov|accessdate=17 July 2010|pages=14–15}}</ref> 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 (U.S. state)|Washington]] side are [[Dallesport, Washington|Dallesport]] and [[Wishram, Washington|Wishram]].
 The [[Army Corps of Engineers]] commenced work on the dam in 1952 and completed it five years later. Slackwater created by the dam submerged [[Celilo Falls]], the economic and cultural hub of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] in the region and the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in [[North America]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Dietrich | first = William | title = Northwest Passage: The Great Columbia River | publisher = University of Washington Press | place = Seattle, WA | year = 1995 | page = 52}}</ref> On March 10, 1957, hundreds of observers looked on as the rising waters rapidly silenced the falls, submerged fishing platforms, and consumed the village of [[Celilo_Village,_Oregon|Celilo]].