Columbia (Río)

"El río Columbia (también conocido como Wimahl o Gran Río por los nativos de los pueblos chinook que viven en su curso bajo) es el río más largo de la región noroeste de la costa del Pacífico de Norteamérica, y toma el nombre del Columbia Rediviva, el primer barco occidental conocido que haya remontado el río. Nace en la provincia canadiense de la Columbia Británica y tras cruzar el estado de Washington (EE. UU.) y luego delimitar gran parte de la separación administrativa entre los estados de Washington y Oregón, desemboca en el Pacífico. Tiene 2044 km de longitud, y su cuenca hidrográfica, que drena gran parte de la Columbia Británica, Idaho, Oregón, Washington y pequeñas regiones de Montana, Wyoming, Utah y Nevada, comprende 668 000 km², similar en tamaño a Francia (30.º). En términos de caudal (7500 m³/s en su desembocadura), el Columbia es el río de Norteamérica más caudaloso de la vertiente del Pacífico y el cuarto más caudaloso de los Estados Unidos. La fuerte corriente del río y el elevado salto o descenso de altura en una relativamente corta longitud, le proporciona un tremendo potencial de producción de electricidad que ya ha sido explotado, siendo el río que más energía hidroeléctrica produce de Norteamérica, con catorce presas a lo largo de su curso tres en Canadá y once en Estados Unidos y otras muchas en varios de sus afluentes. El Columbia fue descubierto en 1792 por el comerciante y aventurero estadounidense Robert Gray. Entre 1807 y 1811, la peletera Compañía del Noroeste explotó todo su curso. Desde la década de 1810 el río sirvió como vía de comunicación en la región noroccidental del subcontinente. Después del establecimiento de numerosos asentamientos estadounidenses y europeos en sus orillas, el río Columbia ha prestado muchos servicios para el desarrollo de los propósitos humanos, incluyendo trabajos de draga para permitir la navegación de mayores barcos por sus aguas, la construcción de presas para la generación de electricidad, agua para el riego de cultivos y control de crecidas e inundaciones, e incluso para refrigerar instalaciones de energía nuclear. Todos esos proyectos han entrado en conflicto con la conservación del medioambiente y el movimiento de especies píscicolas y animales, produciendo una contaminación indeseada en sus aguas."

"The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. It flows northwest and then south into the US state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state of Oregon before emptying into the Pacific Ocean. The river is 1,243 miles (2,000 km) long, and its largest tributary is the Snake River. Its drainage basin is roughly the size of France and extends into seven US states and a Canadian province. By volume, the Columbia is the fourth-largest river in the United States; it has the greatest flow of any North American river draining into the Pacific. The river's heavy flow and relatively steep gradient gives it tremendous potential for the generation of electricity. The 14 hydroelectric dams on the Columbia's main stem and many more on its tributaries produce more than 44% of total U.S. hydroelectric generation much more hydroelectric power than those of any other North American river. The Columbia and its tributaries have been central to the region's culture and economy for thousands of years. They have been used for transportation since ancient times, linking the many cultural groups of the region. The river system hosts many species of anadromous fish, which migrate between freshwater habitats and the saline waters of the Pacific Ocean. These fishespecially the salmon speciesprovided the core subsistence for native peoples; in past centuries, Indigenous peoples traveled across western North America to the Columbia to trade for fish. In the late 18th century, a private American ship became the first non-indigenous vessel to enter the river; it was followed by a British explorer, who navigated past the Oregon Coast Range into the Willamette Valley. In the following decades, fur trading companies used the Columbia as a key transportation route. Overland explorers entered the Willamette Valley through the scenic but treacherous Columbia River Gorge, and pioneers began to settle the valley in increasing numbers, following both routes to enter it. Steamships along the river linked communities and facilitated trade; the arrival of railroads in the late 19th century, many running along the river, supplemented these links. Since the late 19th century, public and private sectors have heavily developed the river. The development, commonly referred to as taming or harnessing of the river, has been massive and multi-faceted. To aid ship and barge navigation, locks have been built along the lower Columbia and its tributaries, and dredging has opened, maintained, and enlarged shipping channels. Since the early 20th century, dams have been built across the river for the purposes of power generation, navigation, irrigation, and flood control. Today, a dam-impounded reservoir lies along nearly every US mile of the once free-flowing river, and much of the Canadian stretch has been impounded as well. Production of nuclear power has taken place at two sites along the river. Plutonium for nuclear weapons was produced for decades at the Hanford Site, which is now the most contaminated nuclear site in the US. All these developments have had a tremendous impact on river environments, mainly through industrial pollution and barriers to fish migration."