Columbia River

The Columbia River is a river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It stretches from the Canadian province of British Columbia, through the U.S. state of Washington, and forms much of the border between Washington and Oregon before emptying into the Pacific Ocean.

The Columbia is the largest river (measured by volume) flowing into the Pacific from the Western Hemisphere, and is the fourth-largest in North America, behind the Mississippi, St. Lawrence, and Mackenzie Rivers. (In rare years, the river’s flow may actually exceed that of the Mississippi.) The Columbia's average annual flow is about 265,000 ft³/s (7,500 m³/s). It flows 1,243 miles (2,000 km) from its headwaters to the Pacific, draining 258,000 square miles (668,217 km²), of which about 15% is in Canada.

The Columbia's heavy flow, and its large elevation drop over a relatively short distance, give it tremendous potential for hydroelectricity generation. It is the largest hydroelectric power producing river in North America, with 14 hydroelectric dams in the United States and Canada.

The river was named after Captain Robert Gray’s ship Columbia Rediviva, the first ship from the United States or a European country documented to have traveled up the river.