Abstract
The 2000 km Columbia River is the longest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It starts in British Columbia, Canada and flows through the states of Oregon and Washington before discharging into Pacific Ocean near Cape Disappointment. The mouth of the Columbia River is a deep water harbor and 180 km of the river can be accessed by navigation. Based on flow volume, the river is the 4th largest river in the United States. The headwaters and approximately 800 km of the Columbia River lie in Canada. Columbia Lake and the Columbia Wetlands are located in British Columbia and are the headwaters of the Columbia River. The lake has an elevation of 820 m above sea level and drains to the Pacific Ocean near Astoria, Oregon. The Ocean tides flow up river to Portland, Oregon. This paper highlights how the geological and landscape resources of the Columbia River and tributaries watershed contributed to the economic development of this historically rich region of North America. The Columbia River is one of the most biologically diverse freshwater systems in the United States. The Columbia River system with trails and cruise ships was designed to increase use of the Columbia River, to promote recreational tourism, and to create a generation of people who are willing to protect and provide environmental stewardship of the river basin resources.
Highlights
The 2000 km Columbia River is the longest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America
It starts in British Columbia, Canada and flows through the states of Oregon and Washington before discharging into Pacific Ocean near Cape Disappointment
In the 1700s, there was a strong interest in the discovery of a Northwest Passage that would permit navigation between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean or inland North America
Summary
In the 1700s, there was a strong interest in the discovery of a Northwest Passage that would permit navigation between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean or inland North America. Many European ships, including those under British and Spanish command, searched the northwest coast for a large river, such as the Columbia and Snake Rivers (Figure 1), that connected to either the Missouri River [1] [2] or to Hudson Bay [3]. David Thompson, a Canadian explorer for the Northwest Company, became the first European-American to travel the entire length of the Columbia River. They traveled on horseback over the Rocky Mountains to Clearwater, Snake and the Columbia rivers and to the Pacific Ocean. Landscape resources of the Columbia River have contributed to the successful economic and water resource development of a historically rich region in North America, 2) to identify the environmental and natural resource risks to the Columbia River basin and 3) to create a generation of people who care about the environmental stewardship and protection of the river and landscape resources
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