Salmon Fishing at Celilo Falls

The "Salmon Fishing at Celilo Falls" set from the Pacific Northwest Stream Survey Collection gives us an amazing and unique view into salmon fishing in the mid to late 1930s on the Columbia River.

A bountiful fishing ground for thousands of years, Celilo Falls was flooded in 1957 with the construction of the Dalles Dam. The rising water flooded one of the most prolific salmon runs in North America; it was also an area that had been occupied by Pacific Northwest Indians for at least 10,000 years.

Records and recollections say that within hours these areas were under water: Big Eddy was overrun in less than an hour and Celilo Falls in less than six.

This set is part of a collection of images from the Pacific Northwest Stream Survey Collection, as well as the Western Waters Digital Library.

The Western Waters Digital Library Collection for The Columbia River Basin in Oregon has historical and contemporary resources, including some amazing images.

The OSU Archives Flickr Commons account also has a another set on Celilo Falls, which can be found in the Gerald Williams Collection.

What does it look like now?

Check out the "The Columbia River - A Photographic Journey" site images "Mount Hood, Oregon, and the Celilo Falls area" and "Lake Celilo, looking downstream towards The Dalles."

Where to go for more?

To watch the Oregon Field Guide “Celilo Fishing” video, which features a color film shot by the Army Corps of Engineers. To see a detailed picture of the bottom of the Columbia River at Celilo Falls, check out the sonar data from the Army Corps of Engineers, check out the “Celilo Animation” video.

Just in case you wanted to know what other Flickr folks have put up, do a
search of everyone's uploads for Celilo Falls