The New Student's Reference Work/Columbia River

Colum′bia or Oregon River is 1,400 miles long. Next to the Yukon, it is the largest river on the American Pacific coast. It rises in the Rockies of British Columbia, flows through Washington, separates that state from Oregon, and empties into the Pacific. Its mouth forms an inlet from three to seven miles wide and 35 miles in length. Its main branches are Snake River and Clarke's Fork. There are many falls and rapids, so that, though it is navigable for some 660 miles, freight has to be carried by railroads past the various breaks of the river. The salmon-fisheries are noted.