The Cascades Rapids (sometimes called Cascade Falls or Cascades of the Columbia) were an area of rapids along North America's Columbia River, between the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

s of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. Through a stretch approximately wide, the river dropped about in . These rapids or cascades, along with the many cascades along the

Columbia River Gorge The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the st ...

in this area of

and

, gave rise to the name for the surrounding mountains: the Cascade Range. In 1896 the

Cascade Locks and Canal The Cascade Locks and Canal was a navigation project on the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington, completed in 1896. It allowed the steamboats of the Columbia River to bypass the Cascades Rapids, and thereby opened a pas ...

were constructed to bypass the rapids. In the late 1930s, the construction of the

Bonneville Dam Bonneville Lock and Dam consists of several run-of-the-river dam structures that together complete a span of the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington at River Mile 146.1. The dam is located east of Portland, Oregon ...

led to the submerging of the rapids and most of the 1896 structures.

Fishing site

The rapids were an important fishing site for Native Americans, who would catch

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

as they swam upriver to spawn.

Obstacle on Oregon Trail

Wrecked in the Rapids from Eleven Years in the Rocky Mountains 03

They also posed a major obstacle to the development of the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...

; initially, pioneers would gather at

The Dalles The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermiston ...

to await small boats to carry them to the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the eas ...

; in 1845, Sam Barlow and his associates built a

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

around the south side of Mount Hood, which allowed travelers along the Trail to bypass the rapids on the last leg of their journeys.

Boat portage

Boat travelers were required to either portage boats and supplies or pull boats up with ropes.

Conflicts over portage rights

Conflicts continued thereafter between the

Chinookan The Chinookan languages were a small family of languages spoken in Oregon and Washington along the Columbia River by Chinook peoples. Although the last known native speaker of any Chinookan language died in 2012, the 2009-2013 American Community ...

natives and Europeans and Americans, who generally refused to recognize the natives' authority over passage through the area. By 1813–14, fur traders passing through were resorting to violent force against the Indians. Although more diplomatic approaches eventually prevailed, a

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

outbreak in the 1830s so reduced the populations of the Cascade and other Indian tribes, that they ceased to be a powerful force along the river. However, three forts,

Fort Cascades Fort Cascades was a United States Army fort constructed in 1855 to protect the portage road around the final section of the Cascades Rapids, known as the "lower cascades." It was built on the Washington side of the Columbia River, between the pre ...

, Fort Raines and Fort Lugenbeel were constructed between present day

Stevenson, Washington Stevenson is a city in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area along the Columbia River in Skamania County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,465 at the 2010 census, a 22% increase over 2000. It is the county seat of Skam ...

and North Bonneville over 1855–6 to protect the portage road around the rapids. Natives burned Fort Cascades in 1856, but it was rebuilt. This attack prompted the construction of Fort Lugenbeel.

Steamboat navigation

The Cascades were a significant barrier to river navigation. Steamboats could not go upriver through the rapids, and could be brought downriver only at great risk, although this was done a number of times by highly skilled captains. A canal and lock around the rapids was completed in 1896 at what is now

Cascade Locks, Oregon Cascade Locks is a city in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. The city took its name from a set of locks built to improve navigation past the Cascades Rapids of the Columbia River. The U.S. federal government approved the plan for the l ...

. By 1938 the rapids were gone, submerged under the Bonneville Reservoir as it formed behind

. Bonneville Lock at the dam, completed in 1937, replaced the old Cascade Locks around the rapids.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Columbia River Gorge History of transportation in Oregon History of transportation in Washington (state) Native American history of Oregon Native American history of Washington (state) Landforms of Skamania County, Washington Rivers of Hood River County, Oregon Rapids of the United States Rivers of Oregon Rivers of Washington (state) Submerged waterfalls