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Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area
The Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area is located on the east side of the Columbia River Gorge in central Oregon, just a few minutes fromPortlandIt's very close. The Columbia River is one of the largest rivers in the United States, and as you head east on Highway 84 from Portland, you'll find the Columbia River Gorge all along the way, making this beautiful nature preserve a great place to get out and enjoy the countryside of Portland. The Columbia River Gorge is known as one of the seven wonders of Oregon, and the entire area contains large tracts of virgin forests, alpine grasslands, rivers, waterfalls, and canyons, making it one of Oregon's most iconic scenic areas.
There are numerous waterfalls to visit in the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area. Spring is the best time to see the waterfalls, so if you want to get out of the woods, pick a favorite waterfall and get out of the car to walk the trails. Each of the waterfalls is beautiful, and some can be seen from the parking lot on Highway 84, where the waterfalls cascade down the basalt walls on either side of the highway.
Columbia River Highway Starting Point | Cascade Locks
The town of Cascade locks is one of the more popular towns in the area and is the starting point of the Columbia River Highway. Before the formation of the nearby casecade, the location of today's cascade was originally a large lake, about 800 years ago because of a huge earth and rock flow, from the opposite side of the lake washed down a lot of sand and gravel, before the formation of today's cascade. the location of this town in the core of the cascade, there are a lot of hotels in the vicinity, around the vicinity of the winery, if you intend to stay in the case of this town is a good choice. If you are planning to stay in this town, it is a good choice.
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Attractions | Bridge of Gods
Bridge of Gods is on the west side of Cascade Lock, a railroad bridge that connects Washington and Oregon. It is called the Bridge of Gods because it is said that hundreds of years ago, the ancient Bridge of Gods connected the gods and mankind. Legend has it that a young man named Wato climbed the bridge to try to cross the watershed and enter the realm of the gods. However, he lost his balance and fell into the canyon, eventually becoming a star. In honor of his courage and sacrifice, the gods transformed him into this bridge so that people can feel his presence and divine protection as they cross the river. From the Bridge of Gods Trailhead, there is a short trail that goes down to get a closer view of the entire river valley.
Attractions | Bonneville Dam
Bonneville DamThe dam is located in the middle of the valley and was built between 1933 and 1937. The dam is managed by the military, so access to it is subject to inspection. There is a checkpoint at the entrance, and in addition to the routine inspection of the back of each vehicle, people entering the visitor center are also checked for backpacks.
Outside the Visitor Center, you can see the dam here. As I mentioned before, the cascade in the Columbia River Valley was formed by the earthquakes, and later on, the government started to build dams to help the boats because of the difficulty in navigating the terrain. Later, during the Great Depression, in order to stimulate employment and economic development, President Roosevelt opened a larger dam construction program here, providing more than 3,000 jobs, and many of Oregon's unemployed residents at the time relied on this construction program to make a living. During World War II, hydroelectric power was expanded even further to assist in the construction of warships and military aircraft. Today, the 182-foot-high, 1,450-foot-long dam consists of three power plants that generate approximately 1 billion kilowatts of electricity annually, providing a significant amount of energy to Oregon and Washington.
Outside the front of the Visitor Center is also a turbine that was replaced after 60 years of service. It was left here as a memorial and for educational purposes because it helped create jobs in the area during the Great Depression.
Bonneville Dam has a free guided tour that allows you to take a more in-depth look at the power plant. The tour is educational, not only about the history of the plant, but also about the operation of the hydroelectric generators and the preservation of the surrounding fish ecosystem.
In order to maintain a healthy living environment for the fish, a lot of biological and ecological techniques are utilized to count the ecological conditions of the local fish, and the technology such as the propellers of the hydroelectric generators are specially designed to ensure that the fish will not be hurt when they swim through. After the tour of the power plant, the guide took us to the fish ladder at the back, which is a ladder used to help the fish to move upwards.
At the other end of Bonneville Dam there is also a fish hatchery you can visit. The hatchery, which raises mostly sturgeon and salmon, is well documented and explained in a video. Basically, the adult fish swim back to the area from the ocean to spawn, and the local fish ranch takes the eggs and runs them through a process of hatching, fry rearing, and breeding with specialized equipment, and then releases the fish into the river when they are big enough to go back to the ocean to grow. After a few years, the fish will come back to the river to lay their eggs, and then the fish and eggs can be harvested, and so on and so forth. During the visit, we were impressed by the job opportunities and the efforts made to maintain the ecology, and gradually realized how Oregon can maintain the economy and preserve the ecology at the same time. The sturgeon here are very old and have grown to be very large.
Further reading
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