Bonneville is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

Multnomah County, Oregon Multnomah County is one of the Oregon counties, 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The stat ...

, United States, on Interstate 84 and the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

. Bonneville is best known as the site of

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, Ore ...

North Bonneville, Washington North Bonneville is a city along the Columbia River in Skamania County, Washington, Skamania County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 1,397 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It lies within the Colum ...

is across the river. For decades before the dam was built, Bonneville was popular as a picnic spot for people living along the Columbia River between

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

and The Dalles, and the railroad company maintained an "eating house" for travelers there. Bonneville railroad station was named for explorer

Benjamin Bonneville Benjamin Louis Eulalie de Bonneville (; April 14, 1796 – June 12, 1878) was an American officer in the United States Army, fur trapper, and explorer in the American West. He is noted for his expeditions to the Oregon Country and the Great Basi ...

. The name "Bonneville" did not appear on maps until the late 1880s. Bonneville post office was established in 1900.

Climate

Bonneville has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Csb'').

References

Columbia River Gorge Historic Columbia River Highway Portland metropolitan area Unincorporated communities in Multnomah County, Oregon 1900 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1900 Unincorporated communities in Oregon {{MultnomahCountyOR-geo-stub