engineering

List of dams in the Columbia River watershed

List of dams in the Columbia River watershed is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of dams in the Columbia River watershed rather than just read about it. In short: There are more than 60 dams in the Columbia River watershed in the United States and Canada. Tributaries of the Columbia River and their dammed tributaries, as well as the main stem itself, each have their own list below.

Key takeaways

List of dams in the Columbia River watershed belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of dams in the Columbia River watershed to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of dams in the Columbia River watershed from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

There are more than 60 dams in the Columbia River watershed in the United States and Canada. Tributaries of the Columbia River and their dammed tributaries, as well as the main stem itself, each have their own list below. The dams are listed in the order as they are found from source to terminus. Many of the dams in the Columbia River watershed were not created for the specific purposes of water storage or flood protection. Instead, the primary purpose of many of these dams is to produce hydroelectricity. As can be seen in the lists, these dams provide many tens of gigawatts of power. Major dam construction began in the early 20th century and picked up the pace after the Columbia River Treaty in the 1960s, by the mid-1980s all the big dams were finished. Including just the dams listed below, there are 169 dams in the watershed, with 14 on the Columbia, 20 on the Snake, seven on the Kootenay, seven on the Pend Oreille / Clark, two on the Flathead, eight on the Yakima, and two on the Owyhee. Averaging a major dam every 72 miles (116 km), the rivers in the Columbia watershed combine to generate over 36,000 megawatts of power, with the majority coming on the main stem. Grand Coulee Dam is the largest producer of hydroelectric power in the United States, generating 6,809 megawatts, over one-sixth of all power in the basin. In addition to providing ample power for the people of the Pacific Northwest, the reservoirs created by the dams have created numerous recreational opportunities, including fishing, boating, and windsurfing. Furthermore, by creating a constant flow and consistent depth along the river channel, the series of locks and dams have allowed for Lewiston, Idaho, to become the furthest inland seaport on the west coast of the United States. Despite the numerous benefits to humans that the dams have provided, a number of environmental consequences have manifested as a result of the dams, including a negative impact on salmonid populations of the basin. The organization of the following lists begins with the Columbia River dams and is followed by dams on its tributaries (in order of length) and their respective watersheds. Additionally, the table of contents below is indented to indicate tributary status of each river.

Main stem Columbia River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (Columbia Lake, BC) to mouth (Pacific Ocean, OR/WA).

Snake River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (Two Oceans Plateau, WY) to mouth Columbia River, WA.

Salmon River dams

Little Salmon River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (north West Mountain, ID) to mouth (Salmon River, ID)

Owyhee River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (near Double Mountain, NV) to mouth (Snake River, OR/ID)

South Fork Owyhee River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (north Tuscarora Mountains, NV) to mouth (Owyhee River, ID)

Malheur River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (Logan Valley, OR) to mouth (Snake River, OR/ID)

Grande Ronde River dams

Wallowa River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (near Pete's Point, Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR) to mouth (Grande Ronde River, OR)

Powder River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (confluence of McCully Fork and Cracker Creek, OR) to mouth (Snake River, OR/ID)

Blackfoot River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (confluence of Diamond and Lanes Creeks, ID) to mouth (Snake River, ID)

Henrys Fork dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (Henrys Lake, ID) to mouth (Snake River, ID)

Fall River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (Pitchstone Plateau, WY) to mouth (Henrys Fork, ID)

Portneuf River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (southeast of Higham Peak, ID) to mouth (Snake River, ID)

Salmon Falls Creek dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (Jarbidge Mountains, NV) to mouth (Snake River, ID)

Boise River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (confluence of North and Middle Forks Boise River, ID) to mouth (Snake River, ID/OR)

South Fork Boise River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (confluence of Ross Fork and Johnson Creek, ID) to mouth (Boise River, ID)

Goose Creek dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (near Monument Peak, ID) to mouth (Snake River, ID)

Weiser River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (near Brush Mountain, ID) to mouth (Snake River, ID/OR)

Burnt River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (confluence of North and South Fork Burnt Rivers, OR) to mouth (Snake River, OR/ID)

Willow Creek dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (Blackfoot Mountains, ID) to mouth (Snake River, ID)

Payette River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (confluence of South and Middle Forks Payette River, ID) to mouth (Snake River, ID/OR)

North Fork Payette River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (Squaw Meadows, ID) to mouth (Payette River, ID)

South Fork Payette River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (near Vernon Lake, ID) to mouth (Payette River, ID)

Clearwater River dams

North Fork Clearwater River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (near Illinois Peak, ID/MT) to mouth (Clearwater River, ID)

Malad River dams

Big Wood River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (near Galena Summit, ID) to mouth (Malad River, ID)

Camas Creek Dams are listed in order from headwater (near Packer Butte, ID) to mouth (Big Wood River, ID)

Little Wood River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (Standhope Peak, ID) to mouth (Malad River, ID)

Kootenay River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (near Castle Mountain, Beaverfoot Range, BC) to mouth (Columbia River, BC).

Bull River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (Canadian Rockies) to mouth (Kootenay River, BC).

Elk River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (Upper Elk Lake) to mouth (Kootenay River, BC).

Duncan River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (near Mount Dawson) to mouth (Kootenay River, BC).

Mark Creek dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (Purcell Mountains) to mouth (Kootenay River, BC).

Pend Oreille River / Clark Fork River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater of Clark Fork River (Silver Bow Creek, MT) to mouth of Pend Oreille River (Columbia River, BC).

Flathead River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (Confluence of North Fork and Middle Fork Flathead River) to mouth (Clark Fork River).

Deschutes River dams Dams are listed in order from headwater (Little Lava Lake, OR) to mouth (Columbia River, WA/OR).

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of dams in the Columbia River watershed

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of dams in the Columbia River watershed claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of dams in the Columbia River watershed before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of dams in the Columbia River watershed ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of dams in the Columbia River watershed

In research: List of dams in the Columbia River watershed appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of dams in the Columbia River watershed in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of dams in the Columbia River watershed is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dams on the Columbia River, Hydroelectric power plants in Oregon, Hydroelectric power plants in Washington (state), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of dams in the Columbia River watershed outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of dams in the Columbia River watershed in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of dams in the Columbia River watershed means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain List of dams in the Columbia River watershed out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of dams in the Columbia River watershed in simple terms?

Why does List of dams in the Columbia River watershed matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of dams in the Columbia River watershed?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of dams in the Columbia River watershed.