OPB News
Latest headlines from OPB News.
- I-5 Could Be Closed For Days
- Flood Warnings In Effect Across Washington
- Troops Help With Shoveling Snow Off School Roofs
- Merkley And Schrader Receive Committee Assignments
- Oregon Coast Faces High Rivers And High Tides
- Guests And Workers At White Pass Inn Are Stuck
- Oregon’s Nurseries Intend To Ask For Federal Storm Aid
- Chehalis Valley Farmers Have To Evacuate, But Expect Less Flood Damage
The Modern Day Columbia River
A Four-Part Series
A Canoe Trip On The Upper ColumbiaKettle Falls, WA The Columbia River is often called the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest. It flows 1200 miles from British Columbia, through the inland Northwest, to the Pacific Ocean. A hundred years ago the Columbia was a free-flowing river. Today it’s tamed by no fewer than a dozen dams. Today we go searching for history that’s hard to find. |  |
| | Author Jack Nisbet paddling on the Columbia River near Kettle Falls |
 | Still Waters Run Deep And Deadly For Columbia River SalmonThe Dalles, OR Environmentalists often call Columbia River dams “fish killers.” But in fact the deadliest dam isn’t a dam at all: it’s a 76 mile reservoir that pools behind a dam east of The Dalles Oregon. In part two of our journey down the Columbia River, correspondent Anna King takes a closer look at the deadly John Day reservoir. |
| Eric Queahpama pulls his net out of his boat after a day of fishing the Columbia River near John Day Dam. |
A Tug Boat Ride Down the SnakeLewiston, ID Every year, tug boats push millions of tons of products like wheat, barley, potatoes and sawdust up and down the Columbia and Snake Rivers. This maritime highway stretches 465 miles from the mouth of the Columbia to Lewiston, Idaho – the most inland port on the West coast. In part three of our series, correspondent Austin Jenkins explores the commerce on this river from aboard a tug pushing barges down the Snake. |  |
| Captain Dustin Johnson in the wheelhouse of the tug Clarkston |
| Guardians in the Graveyard of the PacificThe mighty Columbia River surges into the Pacific Ocean at a long and narrow passage known as the Bar. The sea floor below is littered with the debris of thousands of ships. This treacherous crossing is crucial for international commerce to and from the northwest. Correspondent Elizabeth Wynne Johnson introduces us to an elite team of master seamen. They bear the dangerous and high-stakes responsibility of guiding ships safely past ‘the graveyard of the Pacific.’ |
