Celilo Canal

Celilo Canal
Celilo Canal in 1910;
the Columbia River is visible at left.
Specifications
Maximum boat beam65 ft 0 in (19.8 m)
Statusinundated by Lake Celilo formed by The Dalles Dam
History
Principal engineerArmy Engineers[1]
Construction began1905
Date of first useMay 15, 1915
Date closed1957

Celilo Canal was a canal in Oregon connecting two points of the Columbia River, just east of The Dalles.

In the natural state of the Columbia River, there was an 8-mile (13 km) stretch from The Dalles to Celilo Falls that was impassable upstream and navigable downstream only at high water and at great risk. Celilo Canal was built in the early part of the 1900s to allow steamboat and river-borne traffic to bypass that stretch.

  1. ^ "Columbia River History—Navigation". Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Retrieved 2009-09-03.