Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is home of the Columbia River Gorge in Hood River, Oregon. The river cuts through the canyon at sea level making it the only one in the Cascade Mountain Range. The canyon's southern walls are in Oregon and the northern walls are in Washington making the canyon eighty miles long; it reaches depths of four thousand feet. A number of basalt flows formed what is known as the Columbia River Plateau by covering thousands of acres.
Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area was created when President Reagan signed a law for the 292,500 acres. While concerns for the management of the gorge were not solved new possibilities did emerge. The act did not turn the area into a park or wilderness but determined that the existing scenic and rural characteristics would be maintained. The goal of the act was to keep the areas as pure as possible while aiding in the economy of the surrounded area.
The scenic area offers visitors the opportunity to go boating, hiking, camping or fishing. In addition visitors to the Columbia River Gorge can also harvest mushrooms, or gather firewood if they wish. While a number of services and facilities associated with participating in these activities there are some that require participants to obtain a permit or pay a fee. The fees and permit costs go toward managing, maintaining and improving the Columbia River Gorge.
There are a number of things that might require a recreation permit to be obtained especially when they require extra steps to be taken in order to protect cultural or natural resources in the area. Recreation events, group activities, wilderness, rifle range, and the river are a few examples of these. These required special use permits that can be free at times. The fees collected from these permits stay in the area they were collected in to assist in maintaining the area.
Waterfalls are found in the gorge due to geologic events that have occurred over millions of years. Among them are the Multnomah Falls which fall six hundred and twenty feet from their source at Larch Mountain making them the second highest of the waterfalls that flow all year long.
Underground springs in Larch Mountain feed the Multnomah Falls, the flow is normally the highest during the spring and winter months. Visitors to the falls have the opportunity to study floods exposed by geology. There are five Yakima basalt flows that can be seen on the cliff surface of the falls.
Columbia River Gorge has provided support to flourishing civilizations for over thirty-one thousand years. The Marmes and Folsom people that traveled from Asia across the Great Continental Divide left evidence of living in the area that has been found through archaeological digs. Evidence that people occupied the site of Five Mile Rapids which is a salmon fishing area for over ten thousand years was found during excavations of the area.
The Columbia River Gorge itself and the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area provide visitors with numerous opportunities to enjoy the natural beauty.
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