Photo: The Dalles Dam and US HWY 197 Bridge

The dam and bridge link the Oregon and Washinton State shores of the Columbia River. Even though The Dalles is only a short drive from rainy Portland, Oregon, it is arid due to the intervening Cascade Mountains. The location of the dam is near a meeting point of Northwest Native American tribes who would exchange goods for the salmon caught and dried here in the open air. The navigatable lakes created by this and other dams along the Columbia are scenic and provide recreation, electricity and irrigation to several states. However, an entire culture was destroyed and fishing and land rights were taken away without compensation in violation of existing treaties.