Celilo Falls facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Celilo Falls |
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| Wyam (Tenino) | |
Dipnet fishing at Celilo Falls in the 1950s
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 Location in Oregon
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| Location | Between Wasco County, Oregon and Klickitat County, Washington |
| Coordinates | 45°38′58″N 120°58′41″W / 45.64945°N 120.97792°W |
| Type | Segmented steep cascade; submerged since 1957 |
| Watercourse | Columbia River |
Celilo Falls (known as Tenino: Wyam by Native Americans, meaning "echo of falling water" or "sound of water upon the rocks") was a very important fishing and trading area. It was located on the Columbia River, just east of the Cascade Mountains. Today, this area is on the border between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington.
Celilo Falls was not just one waterfall. It was a series of powerful cascades and waterfalls. It was also home to Native American villages and trading posts for an amazing 15,000 years. This made Celilo the oldest known community in North America that was continuously lived in. However, in 1957, the falls and nearby villages were covered by water. This happened when the The Dalles Dam was built. In 2019, leaders from Native American tribes asked for the falls to be brought back.
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Where Celilo Falls Was Located
Celilo Falls was a truly unique place. The mighty Columbia River, often more than a mile wide, was squeezed into a narrow channel here. It became only about 140 feet (43 meters) wide. This powerful squeeze created the falls.
The Main Waterfall's Features
The main part of Celilo Falls was also called The Chutes or Great Falls. It had three main sections. There was a large waterfall called Horseshoe Falls. There was also a deep swirling pool known as the Cul-de-Sac. Finally, there was the main river channel. These features were carved by the river's strong flow through hard basalt rocks.
The height of the falls changed with the seasons. When the water was low, the falls dropped about 20 feet (6 meters). But during the spring floods in June and July, the falls could be completely covered by water. Celilo Falls was one of the largest waterfalls in North America. It was the sixth-largest in the world by the amount of water flowing over it. On average, about 190,000 cubic feet (5,380 cubic meters) of water flowed over the falls every second. During big floods, this could increase to over 1.2 million cubic feet (35,113 cubic meters) per second!
The Narrows and Dalles Rapids
Celilo Falls was just the beginning of a series of fast-moving waters. These were known as The Narrows or The Dalles. They stretched for about 12 miles (19 kilometers) downstream. Over this distance, the river dropped significantly.
About 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) below Celilo Falls were rapids called the Short Narrows. These rapids were about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) long. Further downstream, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Celilo Falls, were the Long Narrows. This section was about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) long. Here, the river narrowed even more, to just 75 feet (23 meters) wide.
Right after the Long Narrows were the Dalles Rapids. Early explorers described these rapids as a wild and powerful part of the river. One explorer, Charles Wilkes, said it was "one of the most remarkable places upon the Columbia." He estimated the river dropped about 50 feet (15 meters) over 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) in this area. During spring floods, the river could rise as much as 62 feet (19 meters). This made the rapids even more intense and dangerous.
A Long History at Celilo Falls
For 15,000 years, Native American people gathered at Wyam, or Celilo Falls. It was a vital place for them to fish and trade goods.
Fishing and Trading: A Lifeline
Native peoples built wooden platforms that reached out over the water. From these platforms, they caught salmon using dipnets and long spears. They caught the fish as they swam upstream and leaped over the falls. Historically, an incredible 15 to 20 million salmon passed through the falls each year. This made it one of the best fishing spots in North America.
Celilo Falls and The Dalles were perfectly located for trade. They were at the meeting point of different Native American language groups. This made the area a central hub for a huge trading network. Goods found at the old village site show that trade happened with people from as far away as the Great Plains, the Southwestern United States, and Alaska. There are also many ancient rock art drawings near the falls. This shows the site was important for more than just trade; it was a place where different cultures met and shared.
When the Lewis and Clark Expedition came through in 1805, they saw a "great emporium." This meant it was a huge marketplace where many different nations gathered. They also noted a large population living there. Because of its importance, historians have called the Celilo area the "Wall Street of the West." The Wishram people lived on the north bank, and the Wasco lived on the south bank. The busiest trading happened at the Wishram village of Nix-luidix. Even animals like sea lions and seals followed the salmon up the Columbia River to Celilo Falls.
The river's flow changed a lot with the seasons. High water in summer and low water in winter greatly affected Celilo Falls. When Lewis and Clark arrived in late autumn, the low water made the falls a big obstacle. But when explorer David Thompson passed in July 1811, high water covered the falls, making his journey easier.
The Long Narrows, or Big Dalles, about ten miles below Celilo Falls, were even harder to pass. This part of the river was impossible to cross during high water. During low water in autumn, boats could pass, but only if they were empty. Even then, it was very dangerous. Many pioneers traveling west in the 1840s and 1850s lost their lives in the strong currents near Celilo.
To help with river travel, the Army Corps of Engineers built the 14-mile (23-kilometer) Celilo Canal. This canal, finished in 1915, allowed steamboats to go around the wild falls. However, the canal was not used much and was completely closed by 1919.
The Dam That Submerged the Falls
As more people moved to the Pacific Northwest in the 1930s and 1940s, leaders wanted to build many hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River. They believed dams would help boats travel, provide water for farms, create electricity for factories, and stop floods. The demand for electricity grew quickly, especially during World War II. By 1943, almost all the electricity from the Columbia River was used for making war supplies. The large amount of water at Celilo Falls made it a perfect spot for a new dam.
Native American people continued to fish at Celilo. They had this right because of treaties signed in 1855 with tribes like the Yakama Nation and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. These treaties promised their ancient "right of taking fish at all usual and accustomed stations." In 1947, the federal government decided that the planned dam would not break these treaty rights. The government then paid the affected tribes $26.8 million for the loss of Celilo and other fishing spots.
The Army Corps of Engineers started building The Dalles Dam in 1952. It was finished five years later. On March 10, 1957, many people watched as the rising waters of Lake Celilo quickly covered the falls. Fishing platforms disappeared, and the village of Celilo was submerged. This ended a way of life that had lasted for thousands of years. Today, a small Native American community lives at nearby Celilo Village, on a hill overlooking where the falls once were.
In 2008, the Army Corps of Engineers used sonar to survey the Celilo Falls site. This survey showed that the falls are still there, underwater, mostly intact. They found "rocky outcrops, carved basins and channels that match aerial photographs from the 1940s."
The Lasting Memory of Celilo Falls
Celilo Falls still holds deep cultural meaning for Native American peoples. As Ted Strong of the Intertribal Fish Commission once said, "If you are an Indian person and you think, you can still see all the characteristics of that waterfall. If you listen, you can still hear its roar." In 2007, three thousand people gathered at Celilo Village to remember the 50-year anniversary of the falls being covered by water.
In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, the narrator, Chief Bromden, grew up in a Native American village near the waterfall.
Artist and architect Maya Lin created interpretive artwork at Celilo for the Confluence Project, which was scheduled for completion in 2019.
Hopes for the Falls' Return
Leaders from the Yakama and Lummi tribes called for the falls to be restored in 2019. They pointed out that Indigenous peoples never agreed to the falls being submerged. They also noted that the river's temperature has become hotter each year because of the reservoir. This has led to a big drop in salmon populations. They also mentioned that the dam destroyed fishing sites that were promised to the tribes in treaties 150 years ago. In response, Northwest RiverPartners stated that the dam is still important for hydropower electricity. This electricity helps ports and businesses in the area.
See also
- List of waterfalls
- List of waterfalls by flow rate
- List of rapids of the Columbia River
