The Columbia River Project

The Columbia River is second in size when compared with other North American rivers, and is second only to the Mississippi. From the standpoint of the power development, it is the greatest of all American rivers. Its basin has an area of about 259,000 square miles. A volume of water averaging annually 199,850,000 acre-feet passes through The Dalles, Oregon. The Columbia River is approximately 1,200 miles in length, of which the upper 465 miles lies wholly in Canada. Of the portion in the United States, 425 miles lie above the mouth of the Snake River. From the mouth of the snake to the Pacific Ocean is 324 miles. The drainage area of the Columbia River above the mouth of the Snake River is 103,00 square miles, of which 39,000 square miles are in Canada and 64,000 square miles are in the United States. This area is divided between the Provine of British Columbia and three states of Montana, Idaho, and Washington