Lake Bonneville (Oregon)

Lake Bonneville is a reservoir on the Columbia River in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. It was created in 1937 with the construction of Bonneville Dam. The reservoir stretches between it and The Dalles Dam, upstream. It lies in parts of three counties in Oregon (Multnomah, Hood River, Wasco) and two in Washington (Skamania, Klickitat).

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Lake Bonneville

Lake Bonneville was a prehistoric pluvial lake that covered much of the eastern part of North America's Great Basin region. Most of the territory it covered was in present-day Utah, though parts of the lake extended into present-day Idaho and Nevada. (Its counterpart Lake Lahontan occupied much of northwestern Nevada while extending into California and Oregon.) Formed about 32,000 years ago, Lake Bonneville existed until about 14,500 years ago, when a large portion of the lake was released through the Red Rock Pass in Idaho. Following the Bonneville Flood, as the release is now known, the lake receded to a level called the Provo Level. Many of the unique geological characteristics of the Great Basin are due to the effects of the lake.

At more than 1,000 ft (300 m) deep and more than 19,691 square miles (51,000 km²) in area, the lake was nearly as large as Lake Michigan and significantly deeper. With the change in climate, the lake began drying up, leaving Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake, Sevier Lake, Rush Lake, and Little Salt Lake as remnants.

Bonneville Dam

Bonneville Lock and Dam /ˈbɒnᵻvᵻl/ consists of several run-of-the-river dam structures that together complete a span of the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington at River Mile 146.1. The dam is located 40 miles (64 km) east of Portland, Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge. The primary functions of Bonneville Lock and Dam are electrical power generation and river navigation. The dam was built and is managed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Electrical power generated at Bonneville is distributed by the Bonneville Power Administration. Bonneville Lock and Dam is named for Army Capt. Benjamin Bonneville, an early explorer credited with charting much of the Oregon Trail. The Bonneville Dam Historic District was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1987.

History

In 1896, prior to this damming of the river, the Cascade Locks and Canal were constructed, allowing ships to pass the Cascades Rapids, located several miles upstream of Bonneville.