Spokane Falls is the name of a
waterfall
A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge
of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...
and
dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...
on the
Spokane River
The Spokane River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northern Idaho and eastern Washington in the United States. It drains a low mountainous area east of the Columbia, passing through the Spokane Valley and the city o ...
, located in the
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
in downtown
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
. The city of Spokane was also initially named "Spokane Falls".
History
The Native American name for the Spokane Falls was "Stluputqu", meaning "swift water". The falls was once the site of a large
Spokane people
The Spokan or Spokane people are a Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau, Native American Plateau tribe who inhabit the eastern portion of present-day Washington (state), Washington state and parts of northern Idaho in the United States o ...
village.
Features
The falls consists of the Upper Falls and the Lower Falls. The area around the falls was formerly a rail yard, that was converted to a city park for use as the fairgrounds for the
1974 World's Fair. The park is located predominantly on Havermale Island, the east-most boundary is established by the first fork in the river. This is the site of the Upper Falls Dam, a diversion dam constructed in 1920 that directs the water into the Upper Falls intake on the south channel of the Spokane River. The
Upper Falls Power Plant incorporates a
Francis turbine
The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over 95% efficiency.
The pro ...
capable of generating 10
MW.
The water not diverted to the south fork by the dam flows over the Upper Falls. The north fork of the river splits again at Salmon People Island, snxw meneɂ in
Salish
Salish () may refer to:
* Salish peoples, a group of First Nations/Native Americans
** Coast Salish peoples, several First Nations/Native American groups in the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest
** Interior Salish peoples, several First Na ...
,
and flows over the two Upper Falls on either side of the island. The north fork converges again after the Upper Falls, and is also rejoined by the diverted south fork (through the outlet on the Upper Falls Intake).
The Lower Falls is the site of a second diversion dam, the Monroe Street Dam. Completed in 1890, it was the first dam built on the Spokane River and is currently the longest-running hydroelectric generation facility in
Washington state
Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
. Its
Kaplan turbine
The Kaplan turbine is a propeller-type water turbine which has adjustable blades. It was developed in 1913 by Austrian professor Viktor Kaplan, who combined automatically adjusted propeller blades with automatically adjusted wicket gates to a ...
has a generating capacity of 14.82 MW.
Management
Both Upper Falls and Lower Falls dams are operated by the power company
Avista
Avista Corporation is an American energy company which generates and transmits electricity and distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Approximately 1,550 employees provide electricity, natural gas, and othe ...
.
See also
*
List of waterfalls
This list of notable waterfalls of the world is sorted by continent, then country, then province, state or territory. A waterfall is included if it is at least tall and has an existing Wikipedia article, or it is considered historically sig ...
References
External links
*
Historic American Engineering Record
Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). It administers three programs established to document historic places in the United States: Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American E ...
(HAER) documentation, filed under Spokane, Spokane County, WA:
**
**
**
Waterfalls of Washington (state)
Geography of Spokane, Washington
Historic American Engineering Record in Washington (state)
Tourist attractions in Spokane, Washington
Landforms of Spokane County, Washington
Dams in Washington (state)
United States power company dams
Dams on the Spokane River
Cascade waterfalls
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