Portal:Oregon/Selected article/104

The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River. Its main stem is 187 miles (301 km) long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward between the Oregon Coast Range and the Cascade Range, the river and its tributaries form the Willamette Valley, a basin that contains two-thirds of Oregon's population, including the state capital, Salem, and the state's largest city, Portland. Portland surrounds the Willamette near the river's mouth at the Columbia. Formed originally by plate tectonics about 35 million years ago and subsequently altered by volcanism and erosion, the river basin was significantly modified by the Missoula Floods at the end of the most recent ice age. Humans began living in the watershed at least 10,000 years ago. Many tribal villages once lay along the lower river and the area around its confluence with the Columbia, and some indigenous peoples were spread throughout the upper reaches of the basin as well. Rich with sediments deposited by flooding and fed by prolific rainfall on the western side of the Cascades, the Willamette Valley is one of the most fertile agricultural regions of North America, and was thus the destination of many 19th-century pioneers traveling west along the Oregon Trail. The river was an important transportation route during this time, although Willamette Falls, just above Portland, was a major barrier to boat traffic. In the 21st century, major highways follow the river or cross it on one of more than 50 bridges. Since 1900, more than 15 major dams and many smaller ones have been built in the Willamette's drainage basin, and 13 of them are managed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The dams are used primarily to produce hydropower, to store water for irrigation, and to divert water into deeper, narrower channels in order to prevent flooding. Despite the dams, other alterations, and pollution (especially on its lower reaches), the river and its tributaries support 60 fish species, including salmon and trout. Part of the river's floodplain (the Willamette Floodplain) was established as a National Natural Landmark in 1987; 10 years later the river was named as one of 10 national American Heritage Rivers.