---
title:                                  Columbia River
tagline:                                Largest River in the Pacific Northwest region
description:                            Rivers of the Pacific Northwest region
date:                                   2016-11-26 00:00:00 +0100

tags:                                   [ 
                                          USA, Northwest Region, Rocky 
                                          Mountains, Rivers 
                                        ]

regenerate:                             false
---

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:wikipedia-article:                     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_River

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The *Columbia River* is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of
North America. It flows northwest and then south into the US state of Washington,
then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state of
Oregon before emptying into the Pacific Ocean.

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[[readmore]]
== Columbia River

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Read: link:{wikipedia-article}[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, window="_blank"].

The river is 1,243 miles (2,000 km) long, and its largest tributary is the
Snake River. Its drainage basin is roughly the size of France and extends
into seven US states and a Canadian province.

By volume, the Columbia is the fourth-largest river in the United States; it
has the greatest flow of any North American river draining into the Pacific.
The river’s heavy flow and relatively steep  gives it tremendous
potential for the generation of electricity. The 14 hydroelectric dams on
the Columbia’s main stem and many more on its tributaries produce more than
44% of total U.S. hydroelectric generation – much more hydroelectric power
than those of any other North American river.

The Columbia and its tributaries have been central to the region’s culture and
economy for thousands of years. They have been used for transportation since
ancient times, linking the many cultural groups of the region. The river system
hosts many species of fish, which migrate between habitats and the saline
waters of the Pacific Ocean. These fish—especially the salmon species—provided
the core subsistence for native peoples; in past centuries, Indigenous peoples
traveled across western North America to the Columbia to trade for fish.

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. In the following
decades, fur trading companies used the Columbia as a key transportation route.
Overland explorers entered the Willamette Valley through the scenic but
treacherous Columbia River Gorge, and pioneers began to settle the valley in
increasing numbers, following both routes to enter it. Steamships along the
river linked communities and facilitated trade; the arrival of railroads in
the late 19th century, many running along the river, supplemented these links.