Bonneville Dam
Bonneville Dam is a dam spanning the Columbia River between the American states of Oregon and Washington.
The dam is 40 miles east of Portland, Oregon, in what is now the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area, was built by the Army Corps of Engineers during the New Deal; it was started in 1933, and finished in 1937. It is managed by the Bonneville Power Administration.
In his song Roll on, Columbia, the folk singer Woodie Guthrie spoke of Bonneville as follows:
- At Bonneville now there are ships in the locks,
- The waters have risen and cleared all the rocks,
- Shiploads of plenty will steam past the docks,
- So roll on, Columbia, roll on.
At the time, America was in the Great Depression, and the dam's contruction provided important jobs and money for the Pacific Northwest, providing hydropower that gave cheap energy to aluminum plants in the area, and enabling transportation 188 miles up the Columbia.
External links and references
Referenced By
Bonneville Power Administration | Cascade Locks, Oregon | Columbia River | OregoN | Roll on, Columbia | Wasco County, Oregon
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