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KOF
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Since 30 Mar 2011
51 Posts
Seattle
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Fri May 24, 19 11:57 am Would the Columbia be kiteable without dams? |
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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
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Since 19 May 2005
4203 Posts
Camas
XTreme Poster
CGKA Member
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Sat May 25, 19 10:16 pm |
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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
663 Posts
Addicted
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Sun May 26, 19 8:12 am |
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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. _________________ Kiting starts at 40MPH |
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Singlemalt
Since 21 Jun 2015
463 Posts
White Salmon
Obsessed
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Sun May 26, 19 1:24 pm |
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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. _________________ Pull the cork. |
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user124
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Since 02 Aug 2012
390 Posts
Portland
Obsessed
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Sasquatch
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Since 09 Mar 2005
2061 Posts
PNW
Bigfoot
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Mon May 27, 19 10:16 am |
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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
462 Posts
Summer- OR Coast, Winter - My van near good snow
Explosive Diarrhea
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Tue May 28, 19 8:31 am |
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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. _________________ MSN has temporarily removed commenting on our websites while we explore better ways for you to engage in discussion on the issues you care about. |
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pdxmonkeyboy
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Since 16 May 2006
6081 Posts
forever labled as the
retired kiter & motorhead Unicorn Master
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Tue May 28, 19 3:51 pm |
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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. _________________ Bury me standing cause I won't lay down!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVvAw2VFR4Y&feature=PlayList&p=FB7233C37686AC79&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=34 |
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Matt V
Since 26 Oct 2014
462 Posts
Summer- OR Coast, Winter - My van near good snow
Explosive Diarrhea
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Tue May 28, 19 5:55 pm |
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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? _________________ MSN has temporarily removed commenting on our websites while we explore better ways for you to engage in discussion on the issues you care about. |
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Windian
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Since 28 Apr 2008
882 Posts
Newport, OR
NEWPORT OG
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Tue May 28, 19 6:33 pm |
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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
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Since 16 May 2006
6081 Posts
forever labled as the
retired kiter & motorhead Unicorn Master
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Pepi
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Since 16 Jun 2006
1831 Posts
Pure Stoke Sports
Shop Owner
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Sasquatch
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Since 09 Mar 2005
2061 Posts
PNW
Bigfoot
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Wed May 29, 19 8:36 am |
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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
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Since 02 Aug 2012
390 Posts
Portland
Obsessed
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Wed May 29, 19 9:44 am |
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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
463 Posts
White Salmon
Obsessed
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Wed May 29, 19 10:18 am |
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Fish wheels. And they were non stop killing machines.
I’m guessing the old piling were for fish wheels. _________________ Pull the cork. |
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pdxmonkeyboy
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Since 16 May 2006
6081 Posts
forever labled as the
retired kiter & motorhead Unicorn Master
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Wed May 29, 19 1:40 pm |
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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. _________________ Bury me standing cause I won't lay down!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVvAw2VFR4Y&feature=PlayList&p=FB7233C37686AC79&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=34 |
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Sasquatch
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Since 09 Mar 2005
2061 Posts
PNW
Bigfoot
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Mon Jul 15, 19 9:24 pm |
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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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