Multnomah Falls

Today we drove a half hour east of Portland on I-84 along the Columbia River to Multnomah Falls.  This breathtaking falls maintains a flow all year from snowmelt, rain and springs feeding its water source.  Though the volume decreases in the summer, it is still awe inspiring as we watch water plummet 620 feet down the face of the falls. 

About 15,000 years ago the geography of this place with multiple waterfalls along this section of the Columbia River Gorge, was carved out in just 40 hours when an ice dam created by a glacier holding back a huge glacial lake near Missoula, Montana.  The lake comprised 3,000 square miles and was 2,000 feet deep!  When its ice dam broke, it is estimated that 9 ½ cubic miles of water per hour flowed toward the Pacific Ocean following along the route of the ancestral Columbia River carving out the Columbia River Gorge and the steep banks that gave rise to this falls and several others in close proximity.  The water carried away soil and rock 1,000 feet deep lowering the river to its present level.

Upstream, the water created another 3,500 square mile lake near the Wallula Gap where the Snake River now meets the Columbia River.  One can only imagine the sound and fury watching this from a safe, nearby mountaintop would have provided for the indigenous peoples and animals.  Certainly they must have thought their world was ending and it makes the explosion of Mt. St. Helen in our lifetime seem pale by comparison.

This event gave birth to an area that for 10,000 years supported one of the greatest concentrations of Native Americans in North America.  Salmon fishing was abundant here with ideal conditions caused by prevailing winds coming up the gorge for drying and smoking the fish.  Native Americans from all over the west came to trade with the tribes living and fishing along the Columbia River.  Discovered by European seafaring Captain Robert Gray in 1792 and later described by Lewis & Clark in 1805, the lifestyle, art and traditions of the native people were preserved before 11,500 pioneers had followed behind them along the Oregon Trail by 1849.

Petroglyphs and pictographs can still be seen to this day and for a peek at what they look like check out some photographs by clicking here.  Though we did not see this artwork, spending more time along the Columbia River Gorge to further see all of this history is now on my bucket list for the next trip through.  I wish also I could take every child in America along with us to see, feel and learn about the history of our country inspiring in them the pride such knowledge imparts.