The largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, the Columbia rises in the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains at essentially the same place which gives rise to the Kootenay River. From a point just north of the town of Canal Flats the Columbia flows north while the Kootenay flows south, the two ultimately meeting after long and tortuous journeys at Castlegar, BC. 1,243 miles miles from Canal Flats the Columbia empties into the Pacific at Astoria, Oregon. Along its length are no less than 14 hydroelectric dams, with a great many more (something like 46) on its tributaries.
The first explorer to enter the river was
Robert Gray, in 1792 in the ship
Columbia Rediviva, after which the river was named.
The Spokane River flows 111 miles from Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to Lake Roosevelt, Washington, which is the lake formed behind the
Grand Coulee Dam. Once an important salmon fishery for the native peoples, the Spokane was one of the first rivers in Washington State to be dammed, first by lumber mills to drive sawmills, then by the city of Spokane to produce electricity. Two of the seven hydro projects on the river are in the City of Spokane. The
Monroe Street Hydroelectric Development was brought into operation in 1890 and is now the oldest hydro electric operation in Washington still in operation.
The Spokane River drains the northern part of Lake Coeur d'Alene in the Idaho Panhandle, emptying into the Columbia River at Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, approximately 180 km downstream.
From Lake Coeur d'Alene, the Spokane River traverses the Rathdrum Prairie until reaching Post Falls, Idaho where it passes over a dam, and a natural 40-foot waterfall. Continuing westward it passes over 6 more dams, three of which (Upriver Dam, Upper Falls Dam, Monroe Street Dam) are located in the city of Spokane. In Spokane, it flows over the Spokane Falls, which are located in the heart of Downtown Spokane, approximately one third of the way down the river's length. About a mile later,[citation needed] the river receives Latah Creek from the southeast. Soon afterwards, it is met from the northeast by the Little Spokane River, on the western edge of the city of Spokane. It flows in a zigzag course along the southern edge of the Selkirk Mountains, forming the southern boundary of the Spokane Indian Reservation, where it is impounded by the Long Lake Dam to form Long Lake, a 15 mi (24 km) reservoir. It joins Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake on the Columbia from the east at Miles. The site of historic Fort Spokane is located at the confluence of the Spokane and Columbia rivers.
The Spokane River's entire drainage basin is about 6,240 square miles (16,200 km2) large, of which 3,840 square miles (9,900 km2) are above Post Falls Dam at the outlet of Coeur d'Alene Lake. Its mean annual discharge is 7,946 cubic feet per second (225 m3/s).
Spokane River contains some of the highest concentrations of heavy metals of any river in the state, resulting from pollution coming from Lake Coeur D'Alene and traveling from the Bunker Hill Mine and Smelting Complex Superfund Site.
From Wiki
In the photo below, the Spokane River enters from the left, the Columbia from the right.