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53-680: In 1896 the Cascade Locks and Canal were constructed to bypass the rapids. In the late 1930s, the construction of the Bonneville Dam led to the submerging of the rapids and most of the 1896 structures. The rapids were an important fishing site for Native Americans , who would catch salmon as they swam upriver to spawn. They also posed a major obstacle to the development of the Oregon Trail ; initially, pioneers would gather at The Dalles to await small boats to carry them to

106-686: A list of top employers in the region. Mid-Columbia Medical Center was the number one employer listed with over 500 employees; a local school district, Oregon Cherry Growers and Fred Meyer all reported more than 250 employers. Google employed between 100 and 250 people, according to the list. In 2012, the top 15 employers in The Dalles according to the Mid-Columbia Economic Development District report on "Largest Employers in Wasco County" were: The Dalles

159-402: A passage from the lower parts of the river as far as The Dalles . The locks were submerged and rendered obsolete in 1938, when the Bonneville Dam was constructed, along with a new set of locks , a short way downstream. As rail competition grew, and forced steamboats off their old routes, shippers and steamboat lines began agitating Congress to allocate funds for improvements to the river, in

212-470: A powerful force along the river. However, three forts, Fort Cascades , Fort Raines and Fort Lugenbeel were constructed between present day Stevenson, Washington and North Bonneville over 1855–6 to protect the portage road around the rapids. Natives burned Fort Cascades in 1856, but it was rebuilt. This attack prompted the construction of Fort Lugenbeel. The Cascades were a significant barrier to river navigation. Steamboats could not go upriver through

265-438: A powerful west wind on most afternoons. During stormy periods in spring, conditions are usually cloudy and cool, while most sunny and calm days become intensely warm, especially from April onward. Springtime temperatures often vary more from one week to the next than they do from one month to the next. The growing season is roughly 200 days long in a typical year, generally running from early April through most of October. However,

318-683: A railroad to be owned in common with a competing steamboat line, so in 1915, Great Northern sold its boats. The lower lock and the canal were flooded when the Bonneville Dam was completed in the 1930s. The upper part of the higher lock is still visible and part of Cascade Locks Marine Park in the city of Cascade Locks, Oregon . The park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . 45°40′07″N 121°53′47″W  /  45.66850°N 121.89644°W  / 45.66850; -121.89644 The Dalles, Oregon The Dalles ( / ˈ d æ l z / ) DALZ ; formally

371-512: A train and died at the age of 48. Highways I-84 , US 30 , and US 197 meet in the city. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 20.61 square miles (53.38 km ), of which 20.35 square miles (52.71 km ) is land and 0.26 square miles (0.67 km ) is water. The Dalles is usually classified as a semiarid (Köppen BSk ) climate region. However, it has some characteristics of

424-412: A vessel 14' at high water and 24' at low water. The lock gates were 56 feet (17 m) wide and 90 feet (27 m) high. The locks were carefully designed to address the great variation in the height of the river, the difference between high and low water being 55 feet (17 m). This condition made it necessary to build a series of three sets of gates, increasing in height from the lower entrance to

477-561: Is a k-8 school affiliated with the Catholic Church in The Dalles. Columbia Lutheran School is a Christian elementary school of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod in The Dalles. The Dalles is also home to the main campus of Columbia Gorge Community College which began in 1977 as Wasco Area Education Service District. It is a leading institution in renewable energy technology education and training. As of

530-506: Is far less wind in the fall than in spring and early summer, though passing frontal systems can still bring quick bouts of strong wind. Winter is the wet season in The Dalles. Despite the rain shadow effect created by the Cascades, there is still enough precipitation most years to support relatively high soil moisture levels for most of the winter. This is a very similar pattern to what happens in classic Mediterranean climates – except that

583-455: Is home to Oregon School District 21. Originally 2 school districts; District 9 in the Chenoweth area and District 12 which included much of The Dalles. District 21 includes 3 elementary schools: Colonel Wright Elementary, Chenoweth Elementary and Dry Hollow Elementary. District 21 is also home to Innovations Academy, The Dalles Middle School and The Dalles High School . St Mary's Academy

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636-474: Is known to have been a trading center for Native Americans as long as 10,000 years ago and is thus one of the oldest inhabited places in North America . The site of what is now the city of The Dalles was a major Native American trading center. The general area is one of the continent's most significant archaeological regions. Lewis and Clark camped near Mill Creek on October 25–27, 1805, and recorded

689-497: Is two thousand eight hundred yards along a narrow rough and slipery road. ... a few men were absolutely necessary at any rate to guard our baggage from the War-clel-lars who crowded about our camp in considerable numbers. These are the greates[t] thieves and scoundrels we have met with. ... the canoes were much damaged by being driven against the rocks in despite of every precaution which could be taken to prevent it. ... many of

742-500: Is very large. Doubtless the railroads will still handle a large part of the business, but water transportation is always a most salutary regulator of freight rates, and everything consumed or produced in an area of probably 100,000 square miles (260,000 km ) will be affected by these locks which open the great Columbia River to commerce. In particular will the vast quantity of wheat raised in Eastern Oregon and Washington feel

795-582: The Chinookan natives and Europeans and Americans, who generally refused to recognize the natives' authority over passage through the area. By 1813–14, fur traders passing through were resorting to violent force against the Indians. Although more diplomatic approaches eventually prevailed, a malaria outbreak in the 1830s so reduced the populations of the Cascade and other Indian tribes, that they ceased to be

848-833: The City of The Dalles and also called Dalles City , is an inland port and the largest city in Wasco County , Oregon , United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census , and it is the largest city in Oregon along the Columbia River outside the Portland Metropolitan Area . The Dalles is 75 miles (121 km) east of Portland, within the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area . The area around The Dalles

901-650: The Wascopam Mission , after the native Wasco Indians. In 1850 the U.S. Army founded a small post at the site of the old mission, being eventually named Fort Dalles . Fort Dalles became the nucleus of the town of The Dalles, which began to develop along the waterfront. In 1855, at the end of the Cayuse War , the Indians living near The Dalles were forcibly relocated by the U.S. Army to the Warm Springs Indian Reservation . In

954-527: The Willamette Valley ; in 1845, Sam Barlow and his associates built a road around the south side of Mount Hood , which allowed travelers along the Trail to bypass the rapids on the last leg of their journeys. We concluded to take our canoes first to the head of the rapids, hoping that by evening the rain would cease and afford us a fair afternoon to take our baggage over the portage. This portage

1007-527: The census of 2010, there were 13,620 people, 5,472 households, and 3,441 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,144.9 inhabitants per square mile (828.2/km ). There were 5,903 housing units at an average density of 929.6 per square mile (358.9/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 87.9% White , 0.5% African American , 1.5% Native American , 1.0% Asian , 0.8% Pacific Islander , 5.7% from other races , and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 17.0% of

1060-594: The 1813 liquidation of the PFC, its properties like Fort Astoria sold to the North West Company. In 1821 the North West Company was absorbed by the giant London-based Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). Fort Vancouver , built in 1824, replaced Fort Astoria as the regional fur trade headquarters. The HBC's trading network made extensive use of the Columbia River. The rapids of the Columbia River at The Dalles

1113-644: The Indian name for the creek as Quenett . The name of the city comes from the French word dalle , meaning either "sluice", akin to English "dale" and German T [ h ] al , "valley", or "flagstone", referring to the columnar basalt rocks carved by the river (in voyageur French used to refer to rapids), which was used by the French-Canadian employees of the North West Company to refer to

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1166-420: The age of 18 living with them, 51.1% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.1% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40, and the average family size was 2.94. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under

1219-458: The age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $ 35,430, and the median income for a family was $ 43,041. Males had a median income of $ 36,387 versus $ 22,583 for females. The per capita income for

1272-408: The bank behind was armored against floods with riprapped stone. In an 1897 article written shortly after their completion, Scientific American was optimistic about the future of the locks, saying: With cheaper rates, adjacent counties will ship from here, and, considering that this is but one point on a river navigable for several hundred miles, we see that the total of the freight of this country

1325-677: The building was put to other uses. The mint is now home to Freebridge Brewing. Construction of The Dalles Dam in 1957 submerged the Long Narrows and Celilo Falls . In 1963, Ken Kesey 's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was published featuring the narrator, Chief, who is from The Dalles. In 1970, the Bonneville Power Administration opened the Celilo Converter Station near

1378-654: The city was $ 17,511. About 9.0% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over. The Northwest Cherry Festival is held in The Dalles in April. In 1984, The Dalles was the scene of a bioterrorist incident launched by members of the Rajneesh Movement in an attempt to gain control of the local government of Wasco County, which failed on Election Day. Salmonella placed in ten restaurants resulted in 751 cases of Salmonellosis . It

1431-450: The city. The population density was 892.3/km . There were 5,227 housing units at an average density of 383.7/km . The racial makeup of the city was 87.8% White , 0.4% African American , 1.2% Native American , 1.0% Asian , 0.8% Pacific Islander , 6.2% from other races , and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 10.5% of the population. There were 4,896 households, out of which 30.0% had children under

1484-500: The early 1840s American settlers began to arrive in significant numbers, traveling overland via the Oregon Trail . The trail ended at The Dalles. It was not possible to take wagons farther west due to steep cliffs that fell straight into the Columbia River. Until the construction of the Barlow Road in 1846, the only way to reach Fort Vancouver and the Willamette Valley was by rafting down the river from The Dalles. A post office

1537-617: The form of canals and locks, that would restore their competitive position relative to the railroads. The two main improvements sought on the Columbia were the Cascade Locks and, about twenty years later, the Celilo Canal and Locks. Studies for a canal at the Cascades had begun in 1875, but interest tapered off when Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (O.R.& N.) finished the railroad to The Dalles and took its boats off

1590-415: The huge upper guard gate, only two sets being used at one time. When the river was low, the upper guard gates remained open continually and the lower sets were operated. When the water rose enough to drown the lower gates, they were swung open and the lifting work was done by the others. The upper approach was formed by masonry wall extending from the guard gate in a long sweep of 1,200 feet (370 m), and

1643-495: The improved rates of transportation to the coast, whence it seeks a market in Europe. The people of the "Inland Empire" may well congratulate themselves on the completion of the Cascade Locks. As it turns out, completion of the locks and the 3,000-foot (910 m) canal leading from the east end of the locks, produced some increase in traffic, but not as much increase in riverine traffic as had been hoped. The North Bank railroad

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1696-635: The long series of major rapids in the river. Starting in the 1810s, Americans and Europeans passed by what became The Dalles, active in the North American fur trade as employees of either the American Pacific Fur Company (PFC) or the Canadian North West Company (NWC). Men like NWC officer David Thompson voyaged both down and up the Columbia, traveling through Celilo Falls. The War of 1812 led to

1749-480: The middle river. Anti-monopoly shippers eventually got Congress to allocate funds in 1893 to begin the canal and locks at the Cascades , which were completed in November 1896. The locks had a lift chamber carved in solid rock 460 feet (140 m) long, and 90' wide, with 8 feet (2.4 m) of draft, deep enough for any vessel then on the river, and large enough to accommodate several at once. The locks could raise

1802-569: The midlatitude oceanic climate that dominates west of the Cascade Mountains, combined with seasonal precipitation patterns very similar to those found in Mediterranean climates. The city's location in the eastern Columbia Gorge results in the presence of numerous microclimates within a few miles of town. To the immediate west, the winters are significantly wetter, and summers are significantly cooler. In contrast, upland locations to

1855-523: The natives crowded about the bank of the river where the men were engaged in taking up canoes; one of them had the insolence to cast stones down the bank at two of the men who happened to be a little detached from the party at the time. On the return of the party in the evening from the head of the rapids they met with many of the natives on the road, who seemed but illy disposed… Boat travelers were required to either portage boats and supplies or pull boats up with ropes. Conflicts continued thereafter between

1908-548: The northern terminus of the Pacific DC Intertie which sends 3,100 megawatts of electricity to Los Angeles. In 1982, a curly-coated kitten was born on a farm in The Dalles owned by Linda and Dick Koehl. The Koehls used this kitten and her offspring to develop a new breed of cat called the LaPerm , which went on to become a popular, established, championship pedigree cat breed around the world. In 1984, The Dalles

1961-462: The occasional sporadic thunderstorm, there is almost no summer rainfall. From late September through early November, the area experiences an abrupt autumn during which normal temperatures drop very rapidly and cloudy, wet weather quickly picks up. Prior to the sudden onset of the rainy season in mid- to late fall, there are often days with a very wide disparity between daytime and nighttime temperatures, sometimes exceeding 36 °F or 20 °C. There

2014-442: The population. There were 5,472 households, of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.1% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

2067-525: The rapids of the Columbia River between the present-day city and Celilo Falls . Also in the same area was the Petites Dalles or Little Dalles, or Short Narrows. In French, "les dalles" means "the slabs". When a river flows over hard flat rocks, it becomes shallow, and rapids are created. The first use of the name Dalles , according to Oregon Geographic Names , appears in fur trader Gabriel Franchère 's Narrative , on April 12, 1814, referring to

2120-494: The rapids, and could be brought downriver only at great risk, although this was done a number of times by highly skilled captains. A canal and lock around the rapids was completed in 1896 at what is now Cascade Locks, Oregon . By 1938 the rapids were gone, submerged under the Bonneville Reservoir as it formed behind Bonneville Dam . Bonneville Lock at the dam, completed in 1937, replaced the old Cascade Locks around

2173-493: The rapids. 45°40′1.51″N 121°54′6.2″W  /  45.6670861°N 121.901722°W  / 45.6670861; -121.901722 Cascade Locks and Canal The Cascade Locks and Canal was a navigation project on the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington , completed in 1896. It allowed the steamboats of the Columbia River to bypass the Cascades Rapids , and thereby opened

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2226-403: The south are significantly cooler in all seasons. The generally warm and dry summers near town make it the ideal climate for the numerous Bing cherry orchards in the area. The summer season runs from mid-June through early September and is quite warm by Pacific Northwest standards; however, summer weather often oscillates between intense heat waves and much cooler and windier periods. Except for

2279-432: The spring frost dates can range from mid-March to early May, and the fall frost dates can range from late September to mid-November. A weather station is located at nearby Columbia Gorge Regional Airport , also known as The Dalles Municipal Airport . In 2006, Google began building a major data center, known locally as Project 02 , along the Columbia River in The Dalles, using the area's reliable hydroelectric power and

2332-462: The summer, winter temperatures can vary tremendously from one day to the next. During arctic air events the daytime high temperatures will generally be well below 32 °F or 0 °C, while a strong subtropical push can raise temperatures into the 50s and low 60s F, even in January. It is quite common for relatively cold air to become trapped at low elevations due to an inversion above; depending on

2385-424: The temperature of the surface airmass, depth of the inversion layer, and temperatures above the inversion layer, this can result in snow, sleet, freezing rain or a very cold liquid rain. Springtime conditions generally run from late February through early June, during which time the overall trend gradually becomes warmer and drier and the landscape briefly turns lush and green. This is the windiest season of all, with

2438-747: The temperatures are significantly colder. The area receives measurable snowfall virtually every year, but the snow totals fluctuate dramatically from one year to the next; some seasons see only one or two brief light snow events while others get major snowstorms and cumulative totals of 20 inches (0.51 m) or more. The most snowfall in a season has been 85.5 inches (2.17 m) between July 1949 and June 1950. Average winter temperatures are only about 3 to 5 °F (1.7 to 2.8 °C) colder than in cities such as Portland and Seattle, and temperatures below 0 °F or −17.8 °C are very rare, but not unheard of – historically occurring on three mornings out of every five winters, but only once since February 1996. As in

2491-471: The underutilized fiber optic capacity of the area. The new complex includes two buildings, each approximately the size of a football field, and two cooling plants, each four stories high. The project promised hundreds of jobs in the area, mainly in construction, with an additional 200 permanent positions expected later in 2006 although as of 2013 Google employed only 150 combined company employees and contractors in The Dalles. In 2021, Wasco County published

2544-437: Was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.99. The median age in the city was 39.7 years. 23.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.1% were from 25 to 44; 25.8% were from 45 to 64; and 17.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female. As of the census of 2000, there were 12,156 people, 4,896 households, and 3,226 families residing in

2597-603: Was also completed along the Columbia, which took more business away from the boats. As a result, the Regulator Line, which had been running Dalles City , Regulator , and Bailey Gatzert on the lower Columbia, and, through the locks, on the middle Columbia, sold out to James J. Hill , owner of the Great Northern and other railroads. Not long later, in 1912, the Panama Canal Act made it illegal for

2650-467: Was established within the boundaries of the current city in 1851, and The Dalles was incorporated as a city in 1857. It has been the major commercial center between Portland and Pendleton since. The city was originally named just "Dalles". In 1853 it was changed to "Wascopum," then, in 1860, to "The Dalles". In 1864, the U.S. Congress appropriated money to build a U.S. mint in The Dalles that

2703-408: Was the largest and longest of the four "great portages", where fur trading boats had to unload and transship their cargoes. Sometimes, during high water, boats traveling downriver would "shoot the rapids" instead of portaging, although the practice was dangerous and many people died as a result over the years. In 1838 a branch of Jason Lee's Methodist Mission was established at Celilo Falls, named

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2756-589: Was the site of the first and single largest bioterrorism attack in United States history . In 1986, Penalty Phase , a film starring Peter Strauss and Melissa Gilbert , was filmed in and around The Dalles. In 2018, Terry A. Davis , creator of the TempleOS operating system, walked from Portland, Oregon to The Dalles in three days via the Columbia River Gorge. There, he was struck by

2809-467: Was to use gold from Canyon City for coinage . The supply of gold from Canyon City began to dwindle, however, and other problems, such as cost overruns, workers leaving to work the gold fields, and flooding from the Columbia River, also contributed to the project running two years behind schedule and led eventually to its demise. In 1870, the State of Oregon received the property from the U.S. Government and

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