The Columbia River
Last evening the Sea Lion began her last voyage of the season on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. With much excitement and anticipation we cast off and cruised down the Willamette River to the confluence with the Columbia. The evening was mild and most of us took to the deck to watch the bridges pass against the backdrop of the lights of Portland.
Early this morning the lock chamber in the Dalles Dam raised our ship nearly ninety feet to the level of the Lake Celilo. This was only the second of the eight locks through which we will pass while cruising up the rivers. During the day we passed several tugs pushing barges going down stream. They carry a variety of cargoes including lumber, wood chips, grain and young salmon being delivered below the dams. The series of dams with navigational locks make the towns of Clarkston, Washington and Lewiston, Idaho, which lie some 460 miles from the ocean, seaports. While there are rail lines close to the river shores the costs to ship bulk cargo by barge is far cheaper than by rail.
On occasion the Sea Lion shares a locking operation with one of the tug and barge combinations but often they need the entire lock to themselves. Each clock chamber is 86 feet wide and 675 feet long. They were sized to accommodate a tug and five barges with only inches to spare.
The dams have changed the level and flow of the Columbia and her many tributaries. As we’re quickly and easily raised or lowered to new river levels we can’t help to think back to the difficulties that the Corps of Discovery and the early pioneers encountered while navigating these same waters.
Last evening the Sea Lion began her last voyage of the season on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. With much excitement and anticipation we cast off and cruised down the Willamette River to the confluence with the Columbia. The evening was mild and most of us took to the deck to watch the bridges pass against the backdrop of the lights of Portland.
Early this morning the lock chamber in the Dalles Dam raised our ship nearly ninety feet to the level of the Lake Celilo. This was only the second of the eight locks through which we will pass while cruising up the rivers. During the day we passed several tugs pushing barges going down stream. They carry a variety of cargoes including lumber, wood chips, grain and young salmon being delivered below the dams. The series of dams with navigational locks make the towns of Clarkston, Washington and Lewiston, Idaho, which lie some 460 miles from the ocean, seaports. While there are rail lines close to the river shores the costs to ship bulk cargo by barge is far cheaper than by rail.
On occasion the Sea Lion shares a locking operation with one of the tug and barge combinations but often they need the entire lock to themselves. Each clock chamber is 86 feet wide and 675 feet long. They were sized to accommodate a tug and five barges with only inches to spare.
The dams have changed the level and flow of the Columbia and her many tributaries. As we’re quickly and easily raised or lowered to new river levels we can’t help to think back to the difficulties that the Corps of Discovery and the early pioneers encountered while navigating these same waters.
