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Would the Columbia be kiteable without dams?

 
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KOF

Since 30 Mar 2011
51 Posts
Seattle
 



PostFri May 24, 19 11:57 am    Would the Columbia be kiteable without dams? Reply with quote

Probably a stupid question, but would the Columbia be kiteable if we removed all of the dams? Jones I imagine would still be good but I wonder what the river would look like near the current event site.

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Nak

Since 19 May 2005
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PostSat May 25, 19 10:16 pm     Reply with quote

I've seen pictures of the Columbia around the area where Cascade Locks is now before Bonneville. All big white water. I'm guessing that only Rooster and west would be kiteable without the dams...

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bigjohn

Since 13 Mar 2012
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PostSun May 26, 19 8:12 am     Reply with quote

I'm guessing that Celilo would be exceptionally interesting without the dams.

You could boost big off the top of the falls for some massive air. That would create for some amazing front cover kite magazine photo shoots...

When you kite Celilo now days there are locations where you feel the current from the falls under your board. It's kind of like the squirrelly feeling after you cross behind a barge.

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Singlemalt

Since 21 Jun 2015
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PostSun May 26, 19 1:24 pm     Reply with quote

https://www.oldoregonphotos.com/location/columbiariver.html

A link to photos of the Columbia River before dams. There’s a really good shot of the Hood River bridge from the Washington side. 1927. Looks like a nice beach on the north shore.

Lewis and Clark did the first detailed river report. Clark’s best bet?

I think the Hood River waterfront will eventually look much like it once did, a huge river delta of shallow water. Couple more glacial outbursts and we’re there.

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user124

Since 02 Aug 2012
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Portland
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PostSun May 26, 19 3:04 pm     Reply with quote

[url] https://smile.amazon.com/Wild-Beauty-Photography-1867-1957-Northwest/dp/087071418X/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=wild+beauty+the+northwest&qid=1558911677&s=gateway&sr=8-2[/url]

Also check out this - fun book for anyone that spends a lot of time in the Gorge. Based on the photos Celilo falls area looks like it would have had some really nice flatwater.

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Sasquatch

Since 09 Mar 2005
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PostMon May 27, 19 10:16 am     Reply with quote

There would be a lot more sandy beaches during low water months.

Make sure to view those old photos of the gorge; cool stuff!

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Matt V

Since 26 Oct 2014
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PostTue May 28, 19 8:31 am     Reply with quote

Good thoughts!

Here is a bad one.

In high flow months (or years) the entire river would be Rufus like current in the spring. So nice beaches, but too much flow for beginners to use it, and way more boards lost. And without the lakes made by the dams acting as a silt/trash basin, the amount of logs and other debris would greatly increase at first, then drop a bit, then increase once again as more trees grow closer to the new water level.

So you would get new spots, but more flow dependent.

And you would have more junk do dodge, in a faster current.

Water clarity would also drop significantly without the dams acting as silting basins.

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pdxmonkeyboy

Since 16 May 2006
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PostTue May 28, 19 3:51 pm     Reply with quote

there would be TON more places to kite without the dams. In the spring you would not want to be in the river as the beaches would be flooded and the water would be moving pretty quickly. The amount of large woody debris (LWD) in the river really wouldn't be that much different as it is today as the banks are still armored and most of the LWD comes from the higher gradient tributaries, not the Columbia itself.

In the summer however, the water would draw down and there would be beaches everywhere. Certainly, downstream of every single tributary and likely many along the river. If you want to look at what it might look like, look downstream of Longview, WA. At this point the river has regained a large amount of sediment from the channel bed and from the Willamette and there is a good deal of hydrologic sorting of bedload materials going on. That is what forms all the islands. A low water year, deposition of sediments, colonization of sand bars with willow and cottonwood…resistance to flow….more sedimentation, more channel migration away from those channel bars due to lateral channel migration.. Etc, Etc. Old photographs show the river being pretty placid in many places during the summer.

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Matt V

Since 26 Oct 2014
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PostTue May 28, 19 5:55 pm     Reply with quote

pdxmonkeyboy wrote:
there would be TON more places to kite without the dams. In the spring you would not want to be in the river as the beaches would be flooded and the water would be moving pretty quickly.


So any estimation of when the spring "high flows" would fall off to a kiteable level? How much shorter would the season be?

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Windian

Since 28 Apr 2008
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PostTue May 28, 19 6:33 pm     Reply with quote

I think the better question to ask would be what would the Columbia Gorge be like without railroad tracks and highways on both sides of the river. Miles and miles of riprap was dumped on the shoreline to create the transportation venues and basically destroyed the natural beaches and river banks. There would be a whole hell of lot more kite launching and landing spots if manmade alterations hadn't taken place.

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pdxmonkeyboy

Since 16 May 2006
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PostTue May 28, 19 11:51 pm     Reply with quote

I think the dams have probably destroyed more beaches than the armoring but the armoring certainly doesnt help.

Here is a simple Columbia river quiz.. do you know what all those piles in the river that look like old dock structures of some kind are for. It always fascinated me that people drive by them all the time and so many people have no idea what they are for.

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Pepi

Since 16 Jun 2006
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PostWed May 29, 19 8:31 am     Reply with quote

The biggest question should be, would Monkeyboy come back out kiting with us if the dams were removed?

We miss seeing your ugly mugout here buddy.

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Sasquatch

Since 09 Mar 2005
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PostWed May 29, 19 8:36 am     Reply with quote

pdxmonkeyboy wrote:
do you know what all those piles in the river that look like old dock structures of some kind are for. It always fascinated me that people drive by them all the time and so many people have no idea what they are for.


Well I'm going with the shotgun approach:

1) Pilings for on the water that were for buildings that are no longer there. Like canning/fish processing.

2) Pilings used for log rafts.

3) Pilings for walkways out to fish netting areas; the kind of fish netting where one uses a long pole with the net at the end. But a more likely use of those pilings were to position a fish catching carousel (not sure what they are actually called; floating raft with a carousel). Powered/driving by the current and the fins that dip into the water also are baskets/ are netted by design and intended to catch salmon migrating upstream.

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user124

Since 02 Aug 2012
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Portland
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PostWed May 29, 19 9:44 am     Reply with quote

Sasquatch wrote:
pdxmonkeyboy wrote:
do you know what all those piles in the river that look like old dock structures of some kind are for. It always fascinated me that people drive by them all the time and so many people have no idea what they are for.


Well I'm going with the shotgun approach:

1) Pilings for on the water that were for buildings that are no longer there. Like canning/fish processing.

2) Pilings used for log rafts.

3) Pilings for walkways out to fish netting areas; the kind of fish netting where one uses a long pole with the net at the end. But a more likely use of those pilings were to position a fish catching carousel (not sure what they are actually called; floating raft with a carousel). Powered/driving by the current and the fins that dip into the water also are baskets/ are netted by design and intended to catch salmon migrating upstream.


I thought those pilings, called "wing dams" by some, were built to help maintain the shipping channel by slowing flow and catching debris in the shallower parts of the river.

It seems like a good rule of thumb regarding just about anything man made in the river (especially if it's old) is that it has something to do with shipping or commerce.

Updated with link:

https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/Pile-dikes/

Last edited by user124 on Wed May 29, 19 12:45 pm; edited 1 time in total

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Singlemalt

Since 21 Jun 2015
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PostWed May 29, 19 10:18 am     Reply with quote

Fish wheels. And they were non stop killing machines.

I’m guessing the old piling were for fish wheels.

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pdxmonkeyboy

Since 16 May 2006
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PostWed May 29, 19 1:40 pm     Reply with quote

Ding ding ding we have a winner!!!

Those pilings are indeed wing dams or also known as pile dikes. Since virtually everything you see in a river is a result of sediment, they are there to control sediment by means of hydrologic sorting. The slower the water, the more sediment will drop out of the water column.

The dikes slow down the water moving downstream, thus the effect is two fold. Sediment piles up adjacent to the piles and it also causes the center of the channel to move faster as there is less “drag” or hydraulic resistance to flow in the center of the channel. And now you know.

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Sasquatch

Since 09 Mar 2005
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PostMon Jul 15, 19 9:24 pm     Reply with quote

user124 wrote:
[url] https://smile.amazon.com/Wild-Beauty-Photography-1867-1957-Northwest/dp/087071418X/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=wild+beauty+the+northwest&qid=1558911677&s=gateway&sr=8-2[/url]

Also check out this - fun book for anyone that spends a lot of time in the Gorge. Based on the photos Celilo falls area looks like it would have had some really nice flatwater.


I just watched a great program on OPB about the various photographers who were lucky enough to see the gorge way back when before dams and as Lewis and Clark witnessed it. The photos are amazing!

Highly recommended if you are interested in the gorge and the history of the Columbia.


The show was aired tonight On OPB. It is called "The River They Saw".

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