Editing Celilo Falls (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Celilo Falls Lee 2.jpg|thumb|left|Native salmon fishermen at Celilo Falls. [[Russell Lee (photographer)|Russell Lee]], September 1941.]]

===Main waterfall===
The main waterfall, known variously as Celilo Falls, The Chutes, Great Falls, or Columbia Falls,<ref name=gibson>{{cite book |last= Gibson |first= James R. | title= The Lifeline of the Oregon Country: The Fraser-Columbia Brigade System, 1811-47 |year= 1997 |publisher= University of British Columbia (UBC) Press |isbn= 0-7748-0643-5 |url= https://archive.org/details/lifelineoforegon0000gibs |url-access= registration |pages= [https://archive.org/details/lifelineoforegon0000gibs/page/125 125]–128}}</ref> consisted of three sections: a [[waterfall|cataract]], called Horseshoe Falls or Tumwater Falls; a deep eddy, the Cul-de-Sac; and the main channel.<ref name="database" /> These features were formed by the Columbia River's relentless push through [[basalt]] [[narrows]] on the final leg of its journey to the [[Pacific Ocean]]. Frequently more than a mile (1.6&nbsp;km) in width, the river was squeezed here into a width of only 140 feet (43 m).<ref>{{cite book | last = Dietrich | first = William | title = Northwest Passage: The Great Columbia River | publisher = University of Washington Press | place = Seattle, WA | year = 1995 | page = 80 | isbn = 0-671-79650-X}}</ref> The seasonal flow of the Columbia changed the height of the falls over the course of a year. At low water the drop was about {{convert|20|ft|m}}. In 1839, Modeste Demers investigated the area in some detail and described not just one fall but a great many, in different channels and with different qualities. He wrote, "The number and variety [of the channels and falls] are surprising. They are not all equally deep. The falls are from 3 to 12 and 15 feet high."<ref name=gibson/> During the spring [[freshet]] in June and July, the falls could be completely submerged. The falls were the sixth-largest by volume in the world and were among the largest in North America.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldwaterfalldatabase.com/database.php?s=N&t=W&orderby=avevolume&sortLimit=5000 |title=World Waterfall Database |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927093831/http://www.worldwaterfalldatabase.com/database.php?s=N&t=W&orderby=avevolume&sortLimit=5000 |archive-date=2007-09-27 }}</ref> Average annual flow was about 190,000&nbsp;ft<sup>3</sup>/sec (5,380&nbsp;m<sup>3</sup>/s), and during periods of high water or [[flood]], as much as 1,240,000&nbsp;ft<sup>3</sup>/sec (35,113&nbsp;m<sup>3</sup>/s) passed over the falls.<ref name="database">{{cite web | title = World Waterfall database | url = http://www.worldwaterfalldatabase.com/waterfall.php?num=161 | access-date = 2008-02-01 | archive-date = 2006-11-28 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061128154519/http://www.worldwaterfalldatabase.com/waterfall.php?num=161 | url-status = live }}</ref>

[[File:Celilo Falls Lee.jpg|thumb|left|Fishing sites existed along the entire length of The Narrows. [[Russell Lee (photographer)|Russell Lee]], September 1941.]]

===The Narrows and The Dalles===
Celilo Falls itself was the first in a series of cascades and [[rapids]] known collectively as The Narrows or The Dalles, stretching for about {{convert|12|mi|km}} downstream.<ref>{{cite gnis |id=1530564 |name=The Dalles (historical)}}</ref> Over that length, the river dropped {{convert|82|ft|m}} at high water and {{convert|63|ft|m}} at low water.<ref name=gibson/>

[[File:Grand Dalles of the Columbia.png|thumb|right|The Dalles (photo from Horner, 1919)]]
Three&nbsp;miles (4.8&nbsp;km) below Celilo Falls was a stretch of rapids known variously as the Short Narrows, Ten Mile Rapids, the Little (or Upper) Dalles, or Les Petites Dalles. These rapids were about {{convert|1|mi|km}} long and {{convert|250|ft|m}} wide. Ten&nbsp;miles (16&nbsp;km) below Celilo Falls was another stretch of rapids, this one known as the Long Narrows, Five Mile Rapids, the Big (or Lower) Dalles, Les Grandes Dalles, or Grand Dalles. This stretch of rapids was about {{convert|3|mi|km}} long, and the river channel narrowed to {{convert|75|ft|m}}. Immediately downstream were the Dalles Rapids (or Wascopam to the local natives), about {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} long. Here the river dropped {{convert|15|ft|m}} in a tumult much commented on by early explorers.<ref name=gibson/>

The Long Narrows and the Dalles Rapids are sometimes grouped together under names such as Grand Dalles, Les Dalles, Big Dalles, or The Dalles. One early observer, Ross Cox, noted a three-mile "succession of boiling whirlpools."<ref name=gibson/> Explorer [[Charles Wilkes]] described it as "one of the most remarkable places upon the Columbia." He calculated that the river dropped about {{convert|50|ft|m}} over {{convert|2|mi|km}} here. During the spring freshet, the river rose as much as {{convert|62|ft|m}}, radically altering the nature of the rapids.<ref name=gibson/> Fur trader [[Alexander Ross (fur trader)|Alexander Ross]] wrote, "[The water] rushes with great impetuosity; the foaming surges dash through the rocks with terrific violence; no craft, either large or small, can venture there safely. During floods, this obstruction, or ledge of rocks, is covered with water, yet the passage of the narrows is not thereby improved."<ref name=gibson/>
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