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Day 4

Now in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and the Dalles
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McNary Dam
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McNary Dam

McNary Dam is a 1.4-mile (2.2-km) long concrete gravity run-of-the-river dam which spans the Columbia River. It joins Umatilla County, Oregon with Benton County, Washington, 292 miles (470 km) upriver from the mouth of the Columbia.[3] It is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' McNary Lock and Dam office. The dam is located a mile (2 km) east of the town of Umatilla, Oregon, and 8 miles (13 km) north of Hermiston, Oregon. The dam was originally planned to be named Umatilla Dam, but the Flood Control Act of 1945 renamed the dam in honor of Senator Charles L. McNary of Oregon, who had died the previous year.

  • McNary Dam
  • The rapids of the Cascades, which long hindered upriver navigation, were tamed first with completion of a lockage at Cascade Locks in 1896, and later in 1938 with completion of Bonneville Dam. The dam inundated the old rapids, and a new lock allowed ocean-going freighters to reach the upper Columbia River. A newer, bigger lock opened in 1993. Farther upstream, the Celilo lock and canal opened in 1915; from The Dalles, it led upstream around the Long Narrows rapids and Celilo Falls, replacing a portage railroad. Celilo Falls themselves were inundated in 1957 with construction of The Dalles Dam - a victory at the time for economic progress, but one purchased at heavy cost in terms of culture and scenic beauty. The hydroelectric dams (Bonneville in 1937, The Dalles in 1957 and John Day in 1971) brought not only navigation and flood control but also a source of relatively cheap electricity, which fueled development of a new industry - aluminum smelting. Two plants are located today at The Dalles and south of Goldendale, although the energy crisis leaves their future uncertain.
  • Mount Hood
  • It got away!
  • The Floozies great us at the Dalles
  • The American Pride
  • The Columbia River Discovery Center
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