Lewis and Clark's Columbia River - Bonneville Dam and Bonneville Reservoir

Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later"
"Bonneville Dam and Bonneville Locks"

Includes ... Bonneville Dam ... Bonneville Locks ... Bonneville Reservoir ... Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) ... North Powerhouse ... Fish Ladders ... Salmon ... Sea Lions ... National Register of Historic Places ... The Golden Age of Postcards ...

Image, 2004, Bonneville Dam, on the Columbia River, click to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Bonneville Dam. Bonneville Dam as seen from Hamilton Island, accessed from Washington State Highway 14. Image taken August 1, 2004.

Bonneville Dam ...

The Bonneville Dam is a hydroelectric dam stretched across the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 146. Today's dam is is built across three islands - Robins, Bradford, and Cascade. This area was once known as the "Cascade Rapids", a major obstacle to navigation on the Columbia. The Rapids were a result of the Bonneville Landslide, a massive landslide which gave rise to the legend of the Bridge of the Gods. Bonneville Dam is located upstream of Beacon Rock and Hamilton Island, and downstream of the Bridge of the Gods and Cascade Locks. On the Oregon side of the dam is Tanner Creek, today the location of a fish hatchery. In 1806 Lewis and Clark spent the night of April 9 at Tanner Creek.

Click image to enlarge	Bonneville Dam from the Fort Cascades Trail, Hamilton Island. Image taken August 1, 2004.
Click image to enlarge	Spillway, Oregon side, Bonneville Dam. View from Hamilton Island, Washington. Image taken April 22, 2006.

Bonneville Reservoir ...

Bonneville Reservoir is the pool behind the Bonneville Dam, reaching from Bonneville Dam, at Columbia River Mile (RM) 146, to the dam at The Dalles, at RM 192. With the wind coming through the gorge, Bonneville Reservoir is a prime attraction spot for tourism and recreation. Stevenson, Washington and Cascade Locks, Oregon are excellent stops for recreation and viewing the Bonneville Reservoir.
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Click image to enlarge	Recreation on the Bonneville Reservoir. Bonneville Reservoir as seen from Stevenson, Washington. Burn on the Oregon shore is the Cascade Locks fire of 2003. Image taken October 25, 2003.
Click image to enlarge	Sailboarding, from Mayer State Park, Oregon. Image taken June 4, 2005.

Captain Bonneville ...

Bonneville, Oregon, Bonneville Dam, and North Bonneville, Washington, were named after Captain (later Brig. General) Benjamin L.E. Bonneville, a West Point graduate who explored the west from 1832 to 1835, visiting many parts of Oregon. Bonneville Post Office, Oregon, was established in 1900, and the railway along the Columbia maintained a Bonneville Station for many years.

Views of Bonneville Dam ...

Click image to enlarge	Columbia River, Washington side, across from Bonneville Dam. Table Mountain and Greenleaf Peak in the background, with Bradford Island visible on the right. Image taken October 25, 2003.
Click image to enlarge	Bradford Island as seen from Hamilton Island. Image taken August 1, 2004.
Click image to enlarge	Bonneville Dam. Bonneville Dam as seen from the Bradford Island, Oregon side, accessed from Interstate 84. Image taken October 25, 2003.
Click image to enlarge	Bonneville Dam from Hamilton Island. Bonneville Dam as seen from Hamilton Island, accessed from Washington State Highway 14. Image taken August 1, 2004.

Early History ...

In the early 1930s the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers examined locations between the mouth of the Sandy River to the Upper Cascades, before settling in 1933 on the Lower Cascades as a location for their new dam. The new dam site would be built across the lower end of Bradford Island, connected to a piece of bedrock called "Bonny Rock".

The first power generated at the Bonneville Powerhouse was produced in March 1938. A formal dam opening was held on July 9, 1938, when the U.S. Secretary of the Interior (Harold Ickes) trilpped a switch and sent electricity to the City of Cascade Locks.

Additional work was completed on the dam in 1942 and 1943. A second powerhouse located on the Washington side of the Columbia River was completed in 1982. A wider and longer Lock was finished in 1993.

The Spillway Dam is 1,450 feet and sits 197 feet above bedrock. There are 36 gates. The total dam length (3 structures) is 3,463 feet.

The 1938 Lock was 76 feet wide by 500 feet long. It took 20 to 25 minutes to fill and 15 to 20 minutes to empty. The new Lock built in 1993 is 86 feet wide and 675 feet long and takes 9 to 13 minutes to fill or empty.

In 1986, the Bonneville Dam Historic District (Powerhouse, Navigation Lock, and Administrative Site) was added to the National Register of Historic Places (District - #86000727). In 1987, the North Bonneville Archeological District was added to the National Register of Historic Places (District - #87000498).

Bonneville Locks ...

Click image to enlarge	Bonneville Locks, downstream end, as seen from Hamilton Island. Image taken June 29, 2005.
Click image to enlarge	Bonneville Locks, downstream end, as seen from Hamilton Island. Image taken July 2, 2006.
Click image to enlarge	Bonneville Locks, downstream end, as seen from near Bonneville Fish Hatchery. Image taken June 29, 2005.

Spillway Dam ...

Bonneville Dam's "Spillway Dam" is 1,450 feet in length and rises 197 feet above bedrock. The Spillway had 18 gates, each 50 feet wide. Six of the gates are 60 feet high and the other 12 are 50 feet high. The Spillway can handle 1,600,000 cubic feet per second of water.

Image, 2005, Bonneville Dam, closeup Oregon side, click to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Bonneville Dam, closeup of Oregon side. Bonneville Dam as seen from Hamilton Island. Image taken May 1, 2005.

North Power House ...

Bonneville Dam's North Powerhouse and Fish Ladder were completed in 1982. It was in this area that three of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (Drouillard and the two Fieldes) spent the night of April 9, 1806.
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Click image to enlarge	Bonneville Dam North Powerhouse. Image taken May 13, 2005.
Click image to enlarge	Eight Turbines, Bonneville Dam North Powerhouse. Image taken May 13, 2005.

Fish Ladders ...

Fish Ladders exist on both sides of the Bonneville Dam, and viewing windows allow the public to view the annual salmon migration up to spawn.
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Click image to enlarge	Bonneville Dam North Powerhouse Fish Ladder. Image taken May 13, 2005.
Click image to enlarge	Bonneville Dam North Powerhouse Fish Ladder. Image taken May 13, 2005.

Fish Viewing ...

Public viewing windows on both the Washington side and the Oregon side of Bonneville Dam allow the public to view the annual salmon migration up to spawn.
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Click image to enlarge	"A view into the fish ladder", Bonneville Dam Fish Viewing Window. Bonneville Dam's Washington side Fish Viewing Window. Image taken June 19, 2005.
Click image to enlarge	Wild Salmon, Bonneville Dam Fish Viewing Window. Image taken May 13, 2005.

"Phoca" ...

Lewis and Clark encountered many "seals" in the area, and even named Phoca Rock, downstream near Cape Horn, after them.

"... The Seal or Phoca are found here in great numbers, and as far up the Columbia as the great Falls, above which there are none ..." [Clark, February 23, 1806]

Today "seals" make their way up the Columbia River to feast at the returning salmon at Bonneville Dam's fish ladder. Pictured here is the California Sea Lion.
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Click image to enlarge	Sea Lion in front of Bonneville Dam. View from Hamilton Island, Washington. Image taken April 2, 2005.
Click image to enlarge	Sea Lion in front of Bonneville Dam. View from Hamilton Island, Washington. Image taken April 2, 2005.
Click image to enlarge	Sea Lion, Columbia River. View from Hamilton Island, Washington. Image taken April 2, 2005.

Bonneville Dam from Eagle Creek ...

Beacon Rock and the south side of Bonneville Dam can be seen from the mouth of Eagle Creek.

Click image to enlarge	Bonneville Dam as seen from the mouth of Eagle Creek, Oregon. Beacon Rock is in the background. Image taken September 24, 2005.
Click image to enlarge	Beacon Rock, Washington, as seen from the mouth of Eagle Creek, Oregon. Image taken September 24, 2005.

Beacon Rock from Bonneville Dam ...

Good views of Beacon Rock can be seen from Bonneville Dam's North Powerhouse. Beacon Rock is located four miles downstream.

Image, 2005, Looking downstream from Bonneville Dam, click to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Looking downstream from Bonneville Dam. View from the North Powerhouse, Bonneville Dam, towards Beacon Rock. Image taken June 19, 2005.

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) ...

Congress created the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in 1937 to deliver and sell the power from Bonneville Dam. The first line connected Bonneville Dam to Cascade Locks, Oregon, just three miles upstream from the dam. Major construction from the 1940s through the 1960s created networks and loops of high-voltage wire touching most parts of BPA's service territory. During that time, Congress authorized BPA to sell and deliver power from more federal dams on the Columbia and its tributaries.

Image, 2003, Powerlines from Bonneville Dam, click to enlarge

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Powerlines from Bonneville Dam. Powerlines from Bonneville Dam cross Bradford Island (right) and connect with Washington State. Greenleaf Peak, Washington, is in the background. Image taken October 25, 2003.

"The Golden Age of Postcards" ...

The early 1900s was the "Golden Age of Postcards", with the "Penny Postcard" being a popular way to send greetings to family and friends. Today the Penny Postcard has become a snapshot of history.

Click image to enlarge	Penny Postcard: Bonneville Dam looking northeast, ca.1940s. Penny Postcard, ca.1940s". Published by E.C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the private collection of Lyn Topinka.
Click image to enlarge	Penny Postcard: Bonneville Dam looking upstream, ca.1940s. Penny Postcard, ca.1940s, "Bonneville Dam, Looking Upstream, Columbia River Between Washington and Oregon.". Photo by Frank L. Jones. Published by Wesley Andrews Co., Portland, Oregon. In the private collection of Lyn Topinka.
Click image to enlarge	Penny Postcard: Bonneville Dam, Powerhouse and Canal, ca.1940s. Penny Postcard, Postmarked 1942, "Power Plant, Bonneville Dam, Columbia River between Washington and Oregon.". Photo by Frank L. Jones. Published by Wesley Andrews Co., Portland, Oregon. Card is postmarked April 27, 1942. In the private collection of Lyn Topinka.
Click image to enlarge	Penny Postcard: Bonneville Dam fish ladders, north side, ca.1940s. Penny Postcard, ca.1940s, "Fish Ladders, North Side Bonneville Dam, Washington-Oregon.". Photo by Wesley Andrews. Published by Wesley Andrews Co., Portland, Oregon. In the private collection of Lyn Topinka.

From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...

Clark, ...

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^*River Miles [RM] are approximate, in statute miles, and were determined from USGS topo maps, obtained from NOAA nautical charts, or obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Website, 2003

Sources: Bonneville Power Administration Website, 2004; Center for Columbia River History Website, 2004; Columbia River Fish and Wildlife Authority Website, 2004; Defense Environmental Network & Information eXchange (DENIX) Website, 2006, Bonneville Dam Historic District, National Historic Landmark 1986 Nomination Package; McArthur, L.A., and McArthur, L.L., 2003, Oregon Geographic Names, Oregon Historical Society; National Register of Historic Places Website, 2004, 2005; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Website, 2005, 2006.

All Lewis and Clark quotations from Gary Moulton editions of the Lewis and Clark Journals, University of Nebraska Press, all attempts have been made to type the quotations exactly as in the Moulton editions, however typing errors introduced by this web author cannot be ruled out; location interpretation from variety of sources, including this website author.