The Dalles Dam

Construction of The Dalles Dam began in 1952. By 1957, the dam, navigation lock, and two fish ladders were complete, allowing the Army Corps to close the gates and fill the 23.6 mile-long reservoir known as Lake Celilo. By 1960, fourteen 78,000-kw generators had been installed, with eight 86,000-kw and two 13,500-kw generators added later, for a total generating capacity of 1,807,000 kws.

Beneath the waters of Lake Celilo lies what were once some of the most productive salmon fishing sites in all of North America. Ancestors of today’s Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla, and Nez Perce Indians fished the narrow rapids coursing through Celilo Falls, Tenmile Rapids, and Fivemile Rapids “since time immemorial,” making salmon a central part of their cultures. When the United States transformed the river into what historian Richard White has called an “organic machine,” the tribes were compensated for their lost fishing sites with nearly $27 million in federal funds.