Cruising the Columbia River
We got off to a great start yesterday evening with our voyage on the Columbia and Snake rivers. When we began the trip, we were in a temperate rainforest environment and marveled at the green and lush habitat on the western side of the North Cascade Mountain Range. A harvest moon illuminated our way as we passed through the Columbia River Gorge during the night and emerged on the eastern side of the mountains in the early morning. As people began to stir this morning, most everyone was shocked to see the dry, brown, exposed hills of a cool brush desert habitat…so starkly different from what we experienced yesterday. It really illustrates the meaning of "rain shadow." That is, the prevailing westerlies move moist air from the Pacific Ocean inland, and as the air flows past the Cascades, it rises, cools, and drops its moisture before reaching the eastern side. So, it is no wonder the environment east of the Cascades is so very dry. However, I hasten to add the scenery is no less interesting on the eastern side.
Today, the Sea Lion was “at sea” all day as we made our way upstream. The Columbia River is second only to the Mississippi River system in North America regarding water drainage, but it's important to realize the Columbia River has twice the elevation drop in half the distance compared to the Mississippi River. This is why it is so conducive to producing hydroelectric power. It has a potential waterpower estimated to be 40 million horsepower, or about one third that of the entire United States. We transited numerous locks today…four on the Columbia River, and a couple more on the Snake River this evening. The dams vary considerably in design, but all the locks are the same in that they measure 675 feet in length by 86 feet in width, although the lift (or drop) also varies considerably between dams. My personal favorite is the John Day Dam guillotine lock, which has the highest lift in North America at 113 feet. Please see the accompanying photograph. Several guillotine-styled locks were built in the 1960s on this river system…and it's easy to see where that nickname comes from.
We got off to a great start yesterday evening with our voyage on the Columbia and Snake rivers. When we began the trip, we were in a temperate rainforest environment and marveled at the green and lush habitat on the western side of the North Cascade Mountain Range. A harvest moon illuminated our way as we passed through the Columbia River Gorge during the night and emerged on the eastern side of the mountains in the early morning. As people began to stir this morning, most everyone was shocked to see the dry, brown, exposed hills of a cool brush desert habitat…so starkly different from what we experienced yesterday. It really illustrates the meaning of "rain shadow." That is, the prevailing westerlies move moist air from the Pacific Ocean inland, and as the air flows past the Cascades, it rises, cools, and drops its moisture before reaching the eastern side. So, it is no wonder the environment east of the Cascades is so very dry. However, I hasten to add the scenery is no less interesting on the eastern side.
Today, the Sea Lion was “at sea” all day as we made our way upstream. The Columbia River is second only to the Mississippi River system in North America regarding water drainage, but it's important to realize the Columbia River has twice the elevation drop in half the distance compared to the Mississippi River. This is why it is so conducive to producing hydroelectric power. It has a potential waterpower estimated to be 40 million horsepower, or about one third that of the entire United States. We transited numerous locks today…four on the Columbia River, and a couple more on the Snake River this evening. The dams vary considerably in design, but all the locks are the same in that they measure 675 feet in length by 86 feet in width, although the lift (or drop) also varies considerably between dams. My personal favorite is the John Day Dam guillotine lock, which has the highest lift in North America at 113 feet. Please see the accompanying photograph. Several guillotine-styled locks were built in the 1960s on this river system…and it's easy to see where that nickname comes from.
