Columbia River Basin

The Western Waters Digital Library allows you to search a wide variety of digital collections for research materials relating to the Columbia River Basin

Browse Columbia River materials in the Western Waters Digital Library.

Searching the WWDL for Columbia River Basin Materials

View search results in the Western Waters Digital Library for:

Columbia River documents
Columbia River images
Grand Coulee Dam
Grand Coulee Dam Images
Salmon
Columbia River and Irrigation

Western Waters Collection Highlights

The Columbia Basin Project Act : Hearings before the Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation House of Representatives Seventy-Seventh Congress second session on H. R. 6522.
Government documents and hearings relating to the Columbia Basin are available in the Western Waters Digital Library from Washington State University.
View the entire collection of historic hearings.

Chinook Salmon, an example of the wide variety of historic photos documenting fishing, fish hatcheries, streams and rivers are found in the NorthWest Stream Survey collection from Oregon State University.

Columbia Basin Project History - A series of texts from Washington State Univesity's Clifford R. Koester collection.

Columbia River Basin Collections

Frank A. Banks Collection

Frank A. Banks was the Bureau of Reclamation engineer who supervised the construction of the Owyhee, Grand Coulee and other dams on the Columbia River. Included here are selected photographs, maps, and architectural drawings from the Frank A. Banks Papers Collection. Contributed by Washington State University.

Cloud Seeding Documents

A collection of publications about the effects of cloud seeding, weather modification, and related information regarding the Columbia River Basin. Contributed by the University of Washington.

Dworshak Dam Collection

Digitized photographs and documents pertaining to the planning, development and construction of the Dworshak Dam, featuring documents and photographs detailing both the legislative and physical development of the dam. Contributed by the University of Idaho.

John N. Cobb Photo Collection

Three hundred and forty images ca. 1897-1917 of salmon and other local fisheries, whaling activities, clamming and oystering industries along the Pacific Coast and Alaska. Contributed by the University of Washington.

Columbia River Basin Collection - Dam Construction in the Pacific Northwest

Digitized photographs pertaining to the Columbia Basin Project. Special emphasis is placed on the construction of Grand Coulee Dam, the canal systems of Central Washington, and numerous other dams in the Inland Northwest. Contributed by The University of Idaho.

Early Washington Maps

The collection includes an historical timeline of events leading to the formation of Washington State and topographic quadrangles from the U.S. Geological Survey dated from the late 1800 to the early 1900s. Contributed by Washington State University.

Grand Coulee Dam Collection

Photographs and pamphlets of the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam, built during 1933 to 1942 as part of the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project for the development of waterpower, irrigation, and flood control. Also included are a look at the recommendations for and against building the dam, images of land clearing activities by the Public Works Administration, and the dam construction itself. Contributed by the University of Washington.

Seattle Power and Water Supply Collection

Historical photographs and pamphlets documenting the construction of hydroelectric power and water supply facilities built in Washington State from the late 1890s to the 1950s, including the Snoqualmie Falls Power Plant, the Electron Plant the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project, and the Cedar River water supply system. Contributed by the University of Washington.

Tollman and Canaris Photo Collection

Sixty-one photographs, ca. 1897, depicting salmon fishing activities and some of the first salmon canning companies in Washington State along the Columbia River and in Skamania and Pacific Counties. Includes images of horse seining, fishermen tarring nets, fish wheels, and crabbing.Contributed by the University of Washington.

Government Reports on the Columbia River

State and federal documents, reports, and surveys regarding irrigation, dams, and water in Washington state during the early 20th century. Contributed by Washington State University.

Water and Watersheds Initiative

This collection includes the seminar series publications, published research reports, special reports and Tualatin River Basin reports published by the Center for Water and Environmental Sustainability (CWESt) which operated from 2000-2005 and the Oregon Water Resources Research Institute (OWRRI) which operated from 1960-2000. Contributed by Oregon State University.