Misplaced Pages

#651348

163-722: Trail has a land area of 34.90 km (13.47 sq mi) and is located on both banks of the Columbia River , approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) north of the United States border. This section of the Columbia River valley is located between the Monashee Mountains to the west and the Selkirk Mountains to the east. The Columbia flows directly north-south from Castlegar , turns east near downtown Trail, and then meets

326-508: A 2.5 hour industrial tour of the Teck Cominco smelter. Presentations include exhibits of sophisticated environmental monitoring systems installed in the Trail area by Teck. In February 1896, Fritz Augustus Heinze opened his British Columbia Smelting and Refining Company smelter at Trail to process ore brought from Rossland on his Columbia and Western Railway . The concentrate from the smelter

489-487: A 21.3% stake in the project alongside Suncor Energy 's 54.1% and Paris -based Total SE 's 24.6%. At the September opening of Fort Hills, Calgary-based Suncor Energy 's CEO Steve Williams said that, "It's unlikely there will be projects of this type of scale again...What Fort Hills gives us is a strategic anchor in a vast reserve up here." Williams was optimistic about the future of the oil sands for years to come, but at

652-628: A 60% stake in the Elk Valley Coal Partnership, to purchase 100% of its assets. Teck Cominco had been the minority owner of the Elk Valley Coal Partnership, with a 40% stake. The facilities are located near Fernie, British Columbia . The purchase was closed on October 30, 2008, with a final cost of $ US14 billion. Elk Valley Coal Corporation was renamed Teck Coal Limited. The purchase resulted in Teck taking on US$ 9.8 billion in debt;

815-510: A boundary along the Columbia River, the Oregon Treaty of 1846 set the boundary at the 49th parallel. As part of the treaty, the British retained all areas north of the line while the United States acquired the south. The Columbia River became much of the border between the U.S. territories of Oregon and Washington . Oregon became a U.S. state in 1859, while Washington later entered into

978-564: A complex network of dry canyon-like channels, or coulees that are often braided and sharply gouged into the basalt rock underlying the region's deep topsoil. Numerous flat-topped buttes with rich soil stand high above the chaotic scablands. Constrictions at several places caused the floodwaters to pool into large temporary lakes, such as Lake Lewis , in which sediments were deposited. Water depths have been estimated at 1,000 feet (300 m) at Wallula Gap and 400 feet (120 m) over modern Portland, Oregon. Sediments were also deposited when

1141-442: A different scale. In October 2022, Teck announced its intention to sell its then 21.3% stake in the project to majority owner Suncor for $ 1 billion, which would bring Suncor's stake to 75.4%. However, co-owner Total SE filed an application to Alberta's Court of Queen's Bench disputing Teck's terms for right of first refusal on the sale, asking that the 90-day period which Total was given to decide be suspended until its application

1304-446: A free testing program was instituted, with removal of above-limit top soil in residential yards (with a priority focus on families with young children). Teck provides funding for this ongoing operation. Because of improvements in smelting processes and emissions controls over the years, the existing contamination is attributed to smelting activities that pre-date the 1997 adoption of newer technologies. The Trail lead and zinc smelter

1467-417: A hundred years and has provided many well-paying jobs that do not require more than a high school education. Intergenerational families worked at the smelter and Teck Cominco became Trail's "economic and cultural centre." The Teck Cominco Interpretive Centre in downtown Trail provides a history of Cominco's Trail smelting operations with displays, a mini-science centre, hands-on exhibits, and videos, as well as

1630-480: A more westerly aspect. In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada , Trail had a population of 7,920 living in 3,736 of its 3,973 total private dwellings, a change of 2.7% from its 2016 population of 7,709. With a land area of 34.9 km (13.5 sq mi), it had a population density of 226.9/km (587.8/sq mi) in 2021. The city is noted for its large Italian community. Persons of Italian ancestry numbered 1,856 and formed 16.2 per cent of

1793-734: A physician who had been in the fur trade since 1804, was appointed superintendent of the Columbia District. The HBC reoriented its Columbia District operations toward the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia, which became the region's main trunk route. In the early 1840s Americans began to colonize the Oregon country in large numbers via the Oregon Trail , despite the HBC's efforts to discourage American settlement in

SECTION 10

#1732851443652

1956-641: A place on the Home of Champions monument. The Home of Champions monument project is an ongoing one, managed by the City of Trail. Additional persons will be honoured regularly for their special contribution to the social, cultural, economic and educational fabric of the community. [REDACTED] Media related to Trail, British Columbia at Wikimedia Commons Columbia River The Columbia River ( Upper Chinook : Wimahl or Wimal ; Sahaptin : Nch’i-Wàna or Nchi wana ; Sinixt dialect swah'netk'qhu )

2119-520: A population as great as 10,000. The site drew traders from as far away as the Great Plains. The Cascades Rapids of the Columbia River Gorge, and Kettle Falls and Priest Rapids in eastern Washington, were also major fishing and trading sites. In prehistoric times the Columbia's salmon and steelhead runs numbered an estimated annual average of 10 to 16 million fish. In comparison,

2282-681: A private American ship, Columbia Rediviva, under Captain Robert Gray from Boston became the first non-indigenous vessel to enter the river. Later in 1792, William Robert Broughton of the British Royal Navy commanding HMS Chatham as part of the Vancouver Expedition , navigated past the Oregon Coast Range and 100 miles (160 km) upriver to what is now Vancouver, Washington. In the following decades, fur-trading companies used

2445-434: A second, larger C$ 20 billion open-pit petroleum-mine proposal—Frontier Mine—25 km (16 mi) south of Wood Buffalo National Park and north of Fort McMurray in northeast Alberta. In 2020, a number of new executives were appointed to the company: Harry Conger as chief operating officer, Jonathan Price as chief financial officer, and Nicholas Hooper as senior vice president, corporate development. According to

2608-471: A shifting sandbar that makes the river's mouth one of the most hazardous stretches of water to navigate in the world. Because of the danger and the many shipwrecks near the mouth, it acquired a reputation as the "Graveyard of Ships". The Columbia drains an area of about 258,000 sq mi (670,000 km ). Its drainage basin covers nearly all of Idaho , large portions of British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington, and ultimately all of Montana west of

2771-561: A sizable resource", the AER extended the "boundaries" of the "surface mineable oilsands area" to include 14.5 townships. Teck and UTS, who had done the exploratory work together, initiated the regulatory process for Frontier in March 2008. Frontier Mine is considered to be one of the largest oil sands mines ever proposed in Alberta. The "292 km (113 sq mi) open-pit petroleum-mining operation"

2934-399: A trades certificate or diploma: Trail—26 per cent, compared to BC—14 per cent. This is directly attributable to Teck Resources and the diversified mining and metals company's presence in the area. The percentage of this age group with a university level education is also very different: Trail—12% per cent compared to BC—22 per cent. The general picture is a working population heavily geared to

3097-441: A wide range of government agencies and stakeholders, including local village residents. The risk assessment concludes it is safe to consume subsistence foods in all areas without restrictions. In 2016, Teck Resources shareholders elected deputy to China's National People's Congress , Quan Chong, to Teck's board of directors . Executive director of IntegrityBC , Dermod Travis, said: "When I saw this, it completely jumped out. It

3260-533: Is Hanford Reach , the only U.S. stretch of the river that is completely free-flowing, unimpeded by dams, and not a tidal estuary . The Snake River and Yakima River join the Columbia in the Tri-Cities population center. The Columbia makes a sharp bend to the west at the Washington–Oregon border. The river defines that border for the final 309 mi (497 km) of its journey. The Deschutes River joins

3423-638: Is a hub of civic activity year-round, and has been a focal point of the community since its inception. The Cominco Arena is a 2,537-seat multi-purpose arena, home to the Trail Smoke Eaters , a junior A ice hockey team who play in the British Columbia Hockey League . Located at 1090 Charles Lakes Drive in East Trail on the route to Sunningdale, Gyro Park is the home to Music in the Park during

SECTION 20

#1732851443652

3586-482: Is engaged in mining and mineral development, including coal for the steelmaking industry, copper , zinc , and energy. Secondary products include lead , silver , gold , molybdenum , germanium , indium and cadmium . Teck Resources was formed from the amalgamation of Teck and Cominco in 2001. In 2018, Teck Resources opened the C$ 17 ;billion Fort Hills oil sands project. In 2020, Teck abandoned plans for

3749-453: Is finished, "not just started, finished"; if Teck can find a partner; and if the price of oil makes the project viable. The decision on regulatory approval by the federal government cabinet was expected in February 2020, but on February 23 Teck withdrew its application for the mine in advance of the decision. In a statement, Teck said that it had already invested $ 1.13 billion and 10 years in

3912-612: Is located 10 miles (16 km) north of the United States-Canadian border. Over the decades it has discharged approximately 10 million to 20 million tons of smelting byproduct containing lead , arsenic and mercury into the Columbia River and Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake in Washington . In 2004, a citizen lawsuit was filed under the 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) against Teck Cominco—, now Teck Resources The Supreme Court of

4075-661: Is not federally recognized , who live near the lower Columbia River, call it Wimahl or Wimal in the Upper Chinook (Kiksht) language , and it is Nch’i-Wàna or Nchi wana to the Sahaptin (Ichishkíin Sɨ́nwit) -speaking peoples of its middle course in present-day Washington. The river is known as swah'netk'qhu by the Sinixt people , who live in the area of the Arrow Lakes in

4238-410: Is our hope that the decision to withdraw will help to create both the space and impetus needed for this critical discussion to take place for the benefit of all Canadians." Teck Resources reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for 31 December 2020 at 2,795 Kt (-440 /-13.6% y-o-y). In 2004, in response to the decades of heavy contamination of the Columbia River by Teck, a citizen lawsuit

4401-714: Is the Highland Valley Copper mine near Logan Lake , British Columbia, with 119,000 tonnes of copper and 3.4 million pounds of molybdenum produced in 2016. Teck has a 22.5% interest in the Antamina mine in Peru, one of the largest copper/zinc mines in the world. Teck also runs the Carmen de Andacollo and Quebrada Blanca mines in Chile. In 2020, Teck announced an agreement to purchase the city of Kimberley, British Columbia 's debt stake in

4564-518: Is the Snake River . Its drainage basin is roughly the size of France and extends into seven states of the United States and one Canadian province. The fourth-largest river in the United States by flow , the Columbia has the greatest flow of any river into the eastern Pacific. The Columbia and its tributaries have been central to the region's culture and economy for thousands of years. They have been used for transportation since ancient times, linking

4727-599: Is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America . The river forms in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia , Canada. It flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington , then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state of Oregon before emptying into the Pacific Ocean . The river is 1,243 mi (2,000 km) long, and its largest tributary

4890-408: Is wrong at so many levels. I think we need to look at how we engage with foreign entities, whether they're governments or companies, in terms of buying our natural resources and ensure we are not also giving up part of our boardroom sovereignty." In 2016, Teck Alaska Inc., a subsidiary of Teck Resources Ltd., was ranked as the best of 92 oil, gas, and mining companies on upholding indigenous rights in

5053-584: The 2021 census , religious groups in Trail included: Trail is the location of the head office of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary , which is one of the city's employers. Trail is part of School District 20 Kootenay-Columbia and schools in the town include: The school district in the Greater Trail area is focused on improving the district and schools and has a focused, well organized improvement plans in place. The strategies selected to achieve

Trail, British Columbia - Misplaced Pages Continue

5216-871: The Big Bend Country , passing through Revelstoke Lake and the Arrow Lakes . Revelstoke, the Big Bend, and the Columbia Valley combined are referred to in BC parlance as the Columbia Country . Below the Arrow Lakes, the Columbia passes the cities of Castlegar , located at the Columbia's confluence with the Kootenay River , and Trail , two major population centers of the West Kootenay region. The Pend Oreille River joins

5379-655: The Canada–United States border at the Boundary–Waneta Border Crossing and the Pend d'Oreille River . Summer climate in Trail is generally hot and dry with moderately cool nights. Temperatures often exceed 35 °C (95 °F) during summer afternoons, average 29 °C (84 °F). Thunderstorms are common during the late-spring and summer season, often moving into the valley from the south. The fall months bring dense river fog, especially overnight and in

5542-587: The Canadian Rockies and the Columbia Mountains in BC. For its first 200 mi (320 km), the Columbia flows northwest along the trench through Windermere Lake and the town of Invermere , a region known in BC as the Columbia Valley , then northwest to Golden and into Kinbasket Lake . Rounding the northern end of the Selkirk Mountains , the river turns sharply south through a region known as

5705-547: The Columbia River Plateau and forced the lower Columbia into its present course. The modern Cascade Range began to uplift 5 to 4 million years ago. Cutting through the uplifting mountains, the Columbia River significantly deepened the Columbia River Gorge. The river and its drainage basin experienced some of the world's greatest known catastrophic floods toward the end of the last ice age . The periodic rupturing of ice dams at Glacial Lake Missoula resulted in

5868-576: The Continental Divide , and small portions of Wyoming , Utah , and Nevada ; the total area is similar to the size of France. Roughly 745 mi (1,199 km) of the river's length and 85 percent of its drainage basin are in the US. The Columbia is the twelfth-longest river and has the sixth-largest drainage basin in the United States. In Canada, where the Columbia flows for 498 mi (801 km) and drains 39,700 sq mi (103,000 km ),

6031-702: The Eocene through the Miocene eras, tremendous volcanic eruptions frequently modified much of the landscape traversed by the Columbia. The lower reaches of the ancestral river passed through a valley near where Mount Hood later arose. Carrying sediments from erosion and erupting volcanoes, it built a 2-mile (3.2 km) thick delta that underlies the foothills on the east side of the Coast Range near Vernonia in northwestern Oregon. Between 17 million and 6 million years ago, huge outpourings of flood basalt lava covered

6194-581: The Grand Coulee Dam in the mid-20th century impounded the river, forming Lake Roosevelt , from which water was pumped into the dry coulee , forming the reservoir of Banks Lake . The river flows past The Gorge Amphitheatre , a prominent concert venue in the Northwest, then through Priest Rapids Dam , and then through the Hanford Nuclear Reservation . Entirely within the reservation

6357-607: The Marmes Rockshelter , near the confluence of the Palouse and Snake rivers in eastern Washington. In 1996 the skeletal remains of a 9,000-year-old prehistoric man (dubbed Kennewick Man ) were found near Kennewick, Washington . The discovery rekindled debate in the scientific community over the origins of human habitation in North America and sparked a protracted controversy over whether the scientific or Native American community

6520-600: The Missouri River . The first documented European discovery of the Columbia River was that of Bruno de Heceta , who in 1775 sighted the river's mouth. On the advice of his officers, he did not explore it, as he was short-staffed and the current was strong. He considered it a bay, and called it Ensenada de Asunción ( Assumption Cove ). Later Spanish maps, based on his sighting, showed a river, labeled Río de San Roque ( The Saint Roch River ), or an entrance, called Entrada de Hezeta , named for Bruno de Hezeta , who sailed

6683-548: The Molala , Klickitat , Wenatchi , Okanagan, and Sinkiuse-Columbia peoples, who owned small numbers of horses and adopted few plains culture features. Some groups remained essentially unaffected, such as the Sanpoil and Nespelem people, whose culture remained centered on fishing. Natives of the region encountered foreigners at several times and places during the 18th and 19th centuries. European and American vessels explored

Trail, British Columbia - Misplaced Pages Continue

6846-517: The Oregon Country along the Clearwater and Snake rivers, and encountered numerous small settlements of natives. Their records recount tales of hospitable traders who were not above stealing small items from the visitors. They also noted brass teakettles, a British musket, and other artifacts that had been obtained in trade with coastal tribes. From the earliest contact with westerners, the natives of

7009-648: The Pacific Ocean . As a result, areas west of Trail, including the Christina Range , Rossland Range , the city of Rossland, and the Bonanza Pass (Blueberry-Paulson) section of the Crowsnest Highway (Highway 3) receive greater amounts of winter precipitation, mostly in the form of heavy snow. Vegetation in the Trail area, although still fairly lush, is noticeably drier than other areas of the West Kootenay, with

7172-763: The Shoshone Bannock tribes are present. The Sinixt or Lakes people lived on the lower stretch of the Canadian portion, while above that the Shuswap people (Secwepemc in their own language) reckon the whole of the upper Columbia east to the Rockies as part of their territory. The Canadian portion of the Columbia Basin outlines the traditional homelands of the Canadian Kootenay– Ktunaxa . The Chinook tribe, which

7335-473: The Yakima War , decimated the native population and removed much land from native control. As years progressed, the right of natives to fish along the Columbia became the central issue of contention with the states, commercial fishers, and private property owners. The US Supreme Court upheld fishing rights in landmark cases in 1905 and 1918, as well as the 1974 case United States v. Washington , commonly called

7498-455: The eruption of Mount St. Helens deposited large amounts of sediment in the lower Columbia, temporarily reducing the depth of the shipping channel by 26 feet (7.9 m). Humans have inhabited the Columbia's watershed for more than 15,000 years, with a transition to a sedentary lifestyle based mainly on salmon starting about 3,500 years ago. In 1962, archaeologists found evidence of human activity dating back 11,230 years at

7661-489: The "Champions" of the Greater Trail area in Sports, Industry and Lifestyle. A society was formed to establish criteria for selection of the persons to be honoured on the monument. The monument was constructed in the summer of 1996 and forty-three champions were selected to be honoured at the inaugural dedication ceremony which took place on September 28, 1996. To date, eighty-nine individuals and organizations have been honoured with

7824-545: The "beautiful valley and mountain slopes" in the first half of 1943. The Trail Memorial Centre currently plays host to the Trail & District Public Library, the Trail Smoke Eaters hockey team, the Trail Museum, and the Sports Hall of Memories, in addition to many local sports facilities. This historic landmark, located at 1051 Victoria Street, was home to two world championship Smoke Eaters teams. The Trail Memorial Centre

7987-431: The "largest oil sands mines ever proposed in Alberta." Teck's board members include Chairman, Dominic Barton , President and CEO, Donald R. Lindsay, CFO, Jonathan H. Price, and Chairman Emeritus, Norman B. Keevil. In 2018, Teck had 10,700 employees worldwide. The net revenue in 2018 increased to a record high of C$ 12.6 billion. Teck credits this increase to "higher steelmaking coal and copper prices" as well as

8150-446: The "sale of blended bitumen from our Fort Hills oil sands mine". The Teck Cominco Lead-Zinc Smelter operation in Trail, British Columbia has its roots in the late 19th century. The smelter has been in operation for over a century. Cominco started in 1906 as The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, formed by the amalgamation of several units controlled by the Canadian Pacific Railway . CM&S, or "Smelters" as it

8313-474: The 1840s a mass migration of American settlers undermined British control. The Hudson's Bay Company tried to maintain dominance by shifting from the fur trade, which was in decline, to exporting other goods such as salmon and lumber. Colonization schemes were attempted, but failed to match the scale of American settlement. Americans generally settled south of the Columbia, mainly in the Willamette Valley. The Hudson's Bay Company tried to establish settlements north of

SECTION 50

#1732851443652

8476-403: The 1930s, there were natives who lived along the river and fished year round, moving along with the fish's migration patterns throughout the seasons. The Yakama were slower to do so, organizing a formal government in 1944. In the 21st century, the Yakama, Nez Perce, Umatilla, and Warm Springs tribes all have treaty fishing rights along the Columbia and its tributaries. In 1957 Celilo Falls

8639-405: The 1960s. In 1963, his son, geoscientist Norman Keevil Jr., then 25-years old, became vice-president of exploration at Teck. Keevil Jr. was named Mining Man of the Year in 1979 for having presided over a series of mine constructions in the 1970s. From 1979 to 2015, Keevil oversaw Teck's major mining projects including Hemlo, Voisey's Bay and Antamina. Over the same time period, Teck became "one of

8802-416: The 20th century, each of these major fishing sites was flooded by a dam, beginning with Cascades Rapids in 1938. The development was accompanied by extensive negotiations between natives and US government agencies. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, a coalition of various tribes, adopted a constitution and incorporated after the 1938 completion of the Bonneville Dam flooded Cascades Rapids; Still, in

8965-409: The Americas and is the fourth-largest by volume in the U.S. The average flow where the river crosses the international border between Canada and the United States is 2,790 m /s (99,000 cu ft/s) from a drainage basin of 102,800 km (39,700 sq mi). This amounts to about 15 percent of the entire Columbia watershed. The Columbia's highest recorded flow, measured at The Dalles,

9128-646: The Arctic Circle in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Finland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden. The company's board rejected a US$ 23.1   billion hostile takeover offer by Swiss competitor Glencore in April 2023. Teck's principal products are steel-making coal, copper, and zinc. As of 2016 , 44% of revenue was from steel-making coal, 34% of revenue was from zinc, and the remaining 21% was from copper. Teck also has interests in oil sands projects in Northern Alberta . In 2018, Teck produced 26.2 million tonnes of coal from six mines in southeastern British Columbia and western Alberta, with most of it exported to countries in

9291-430: The Arctic. On their 2007 web page, Teck Resources listed over two dozen awards that the company had received from 2004 through 2007, for specific mines and operations. This includes awards for individual operations that had low accident frequency, good underground safety, volunteerism, conservation, reclamation, and excellence in business. Teck Resources is the number one sponsor for the twenty-team ice hockey league,

9454-469: The Asia-Pacific region. The coal is transported to ports and destinations in Eastern Canada through rail lines owned by Canadian Pacific . There was formerly a mine in Alberta—Cardinal River Mine in Hinton, Alberta which stopped production in June 2020, and four steelmaking coal operations in British Columbia: Fording River coal mine in Elkford , Elkview Mine in Sparwood , Greenhills Mine in Elkford and Line Creek Mine in Sparwood. In February 2023,

9617-410: The Board of Environmental Review Meeting, reported that the 95% of the selenium coming into Lake Koocanusa originates from the Elk River "which has been contaminated by current and historic coal mining in the Elk Valley." By September 2020, the average selenium levels in Lake Koocanusa were 1 part per billion, while Montana had established new standards for selenium of 0.8 parts per billion. Because of

9780-537: The Boldt Decision. Fish were central to the culture of the region's natives, both as sustenance and as part of their religious beliefs. Natives drew fish from the Columbia at several major sites, which also served as trading posts. Celilo Falls , located east of the modern city of The Dalles, was a vital hub for trade and the interaction of different cultural groups, being used for fishing and trading for 11,000 years. Prior to contact with westerners, villages along this 9-mile (14 km) stretch may have at times had

9943-434: The Columbia Bar, becoming the first known explorer of European descent to enter the river . Gray's fur trading mission had been financed by Boston merchants, who outfitted him with a private vessel named Columbia Rediviva ; he named the river after the ship on May 18. Gray spent nine days trading near the mouth of the Columbia, then left without having gone beyond 13 miles (21 km) upstream. The farthest point reached

SECTION 60

#1732851443652

10106-429: The Columbia River Gorge, about 100 miles (160 km) upstream, sighting and naming Mount Hood. Broughton formally claimed the river, its drainage basin , and the nearby coast for Britain. In contrast, Gray had not made any formal claims on behalf of the United States. Because the Columbia was at the same latitude as the headwaters of the Missouri River, there was some speculation that Gray and Vancouver had discovered

10269-421: The Columbia River Gorge, sending massive amounts of debris south from Table Mountain and Greenleaf Peak into the gorge near the present site of Bonneville Dam. The most recent and significant is known as the Bonneville Slide , which formed a massive earthen dam, filling 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of the river's length. Various studies have placed the date of the Bonneville Slide anywhere between 1060 and 1760 AD;

10432-417: The Columbia River Gorge. The Celilo Canal , bypassing Celilo Falls, opened to river traffic in 1915. In the mid-20th century, the construction of dams along the length of the river submerged the rapids beneath a series of reservoirs. An extensive system of locks allowed ships and barges to pass easily between reservoirs. A navigation channel reaching Lewiston, Idaho , along the Columbia and Snake rivers,

10595-425: The Columbia River. The mountainous terrain where the unit would be placed in is Juniper Point, referred to by the Yakama as Pushpum. Pushpum has rock formations, as well as food and medicine capabilities that are essential to the Yakama. Members of the Yakama tribe wish for consent on the Goldendale project, as opposed to consultation. Some historians believe that Japanese or Chinese vessels blown off course reached

10758-424: The Columbia about 2 miles (3 km) north of the United States–Canada border . The Columbia enters eastern Washington flowing south and turning to the west at the Spokane River confluence. It marks the southern and eastern borders of the Colville Indian Reservation and the western border of the Spokane Indian Reservation . The river turns south after the Okanogan River confluence, then southeasterly near

10921-470: The Columbia and Western Railway (C&W), Heinze insisted the package include the Trail smelter. In February 1898, CP bought the C&W for $ 600,000, and the smelter for $ 200,000. Heinze retained several other holdings. CP created the Canadian Smelting Works to run the plant. CP's new Crowsnest Pass branch supplied cheap coal, and the new Bonnington Falls dam provided electricity. That August, new blast furnaces increased efficiency and tall chimneys lifted

11084-407: The Columbia as a key transportation route. Overland explorers entered the Willamette Valley through the scenic, but treacherous Columbia River Gorge , and pioneers began to settle the valley in increasing numbers. Steamships along the river linked communities and facilitated trade; the arrival of railroads in the late 19th century, many running along the river, supplemented these links. Since

11247-412: The Columbia near The Dalles . Between The Dalles and Portland , the river cuts through the Cascade Range , forming the dramatic Columbia River Gorge . Via the gorge, the Columbia crosses the Cascades at a lower elevation than any other river. The gorge is known for its strong and steady winds, scenic beauty, and its role as an important transportation link. The river continues west, bending sharply to

11410-406: The Columbia to improve navigation. Changes to the river over the years have included the construction of jetties at the river's mouth, dredging , and the construction of canals and navigation locks . Today, ocean freighters can travel upriver as far as Portland and Vancouver, and barges can reach as far inland as Lewiston, Idaho . The shifting Columbia Bar makes passage between the river and

11573-427: The Columbia's main stem and many more on its tributaries produce more than 44 percent of total U.S. hydroelectric generation . Production of nuclear power has taken place at two sites along the river. Plutonium for nuclear weapons was produced for decades at the Hanford Site , which is now the most contaminated nuclear site in the United States. These developments have greatly altered river environments in

11736-457: The Columbia, they failed to send word home to Spain. In the 18th century, there was strong interest in discovering a Northwest Passage that would permit navigation between the Atlantic (or inland North America) and the Pacific Ocean. Many ships in the area, especially those under Spanish and British command, searched the northwest coast for a large river that might connect to Hudson Bay or

11899-482: The Colville Reservation filed a lawsuit against Teck Cominco in 2004, claiming the company had dumped 140,000 tons of slag directly into rivers adjacent to its Trail smelter between 1896 and 1995, polluting the surface water, ground water and sediment of the upper Columbia River and Lake Roosevelt with hazardous metals including arsenic , cadmium , mercury , lead , copper and zinc . The Trail smelter

12062-702: The Company announced record earning, record profit and record production, thus ending the year 2011 with C$ 4.4 billion in cash. Besides expanding into the energy sector, the company was also executing two major projects in Chile and planning a C$ 600 million restart of its Quintette Mine near Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia . In 2021, Teck Resources was ranked no. 60 in the Arctic Environmental Responsibility Index (AERI) that includes 120 oil, gas, and mining companies involved in resource extraction north of

12225-758: The Lower Umpqua Tribe, Siuslaw Tribe, and Coos Tribe in 1984, the Klamath Tribe in 1986, and the Coquille Tribe in 1989. While all the aforementioned tribes received federally recognized status, the Chinook Indian Nation had their federal recognition revoked in 2002 by the Bush Administration, and are fighting to have it restored. In 2023, members of the Yakama Nation expressed their dismay for

12388-469: The Missoula Floods, with discharges exceeding the combined flow of all the other rivers in the world, dozens of times over thousands of years. The exact number of floods is unknown, but geologists have documented at least 40; evidence suggests that they occurred between about 19,000 and 13,000 years ago. The floodwaters rushed across eastern Washington, creating the channeled scablands , which are

12551-525: The Northwest Coast long before Europeans—possibly as early as 219  BCE . Historian Derek Hayes claims that "It is a near certainty that Japanese or Chinese people arrived on the northwest coast long before any European." It is unknown whether they landed near the Columbia. Evidence exists that Spanish castaways reached the shore in 1679 and traded with the Clatsop ; if these were the first Europeans to see

12714-421: The Pacific Ocean difficult and dangerous, and numerous rapids along the river hinder navigation. Pacific Graveyard, a 1964 book by James A. Gibbs , describes the many shipwrecks near the mouth of the Columbia. Jetties, first constructed in 1886, extend the river's channel into the ocean. Strong currents and the shifting sandbar remain a threat to ships entering the river and necessitate continuous maintenance of

12877-666: The Red Dog mine complies with its environmental obligations and that it pay fines for continuing to violate its water permit requirements. On November 30, 2007, the company released the final report of its six-year study, with the oversight of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation , of risks of dust escaping from traffic along the DeLong Mountain Regional Transportation System Road. The final report incorporates formal comments and input from

13040-521: The Snake River, reaching the Columbia near the present-day Tri-Cities, Washington. They explored a few miles upriver, as far as Bateman Island , before heading down the Columbia, concluding their journey at the river's mouth and establishing Fort Clatsop , a short-lived establishment that was occupied for less than three months. Canadian explorer David Thompson , of the North West Company , spent

13203-626: The SunMine solar electricity generating station. The 1.05  MW facility was constructed in 2015 on land reclaimed from Teck's Sullivan Mine, which had produced zinc, lead, and silver until its closing in 2001. CEO Don Lindsay explained that the company planned to use SunMine to develop expertise in solar power and renewable energy development. In 2018, Teck Resources opened the C$ 17-billion Fort Hills oilsands project, which will produce 194,000 barrels per day (bbl/day). Teck Resources had

13366-704: The Union in 1889. By the turn of the 20th century, the difficulty of navigating the Columbia was seen as an impediment to the economic development of the Inland Empire region east of the Cascades. The dredging and dam building that followed would permanently alter the river, disrupting its natural flow but also providing electricity, irrigation , navigability and other benefits to the region. American captain Robert Gray and British captain George Vancouver, who explored

13529-730: The United States (SCOTUS) rejected Teck Metals' Petition for certiorari on June 10, 2019 in Teck Metals Ltd. v. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation . In 2018, the Supreme Court rejected Teck's appeal and found in favour of the litigants. As its contribution to the Manhattan Project's P-9 Project , Cominco built and operated a 1000 to 1200 pound per month (design capacity) electrolytic heavy water plant at Trail, which operated from 1943 to 1956. Lieutenant colonel Kenneth Nichols noted environmental damage from emissions to

13692-603: The Upper Columbia River. The company's smelter in Trail, British Columbia was blamed in 2003 for heavily contaminating the Columbia River. Legal action taken by American citizens living in settlements downriver progressed to the U.S. Supreme Court and was denied certiorari , solidifying the Appellate Court's holding that Teck is subject to U.S. jurisdiction even though it is a Canadian company. The Confederated Tribes of

13855-504: The Yakama Tribe were arrested in a federal sting operation which claimed that fishermen were poaching up to 40,000 fish in the Columbia River. Fishermen placed on trial received sentences ranging from six months to five years. The federal government pinned Yakama Tribe member David Sohappy ringleader of the operation. After the trial ended, it was determined that the fish were not poached, but driven away because of harmful chemicals present in

14018-650: The affection of a goddess, represented by Mount St. Helens . Native American stories about the bridge differ in their details but agree in general that the bridge permitted increased interaction between tribes on the north and south sides of the river. Horses, originally acquired from Spanish New Mexico , spread widely via native trade networks, reaching the Shoshone of the Snake River Plain by 1700. The Nez Perce, Cayuse, and Flathead people acquired their first horses around 1730. Along with horses came aspects of

14181-534: The area is one of an aging population which brings about ongoing employment opportunities in the area. The City of Trail is also home to the largest hospital in the Kootenays region. Trail is home to the Teck Cominco smelter , one of the largest lead smelters and zinc smelters in the world, and is the largest employer in Trail, providing 1,400 jobs in the town of 7800. The smelter has been in operation for over

14344-408: The area, or are from the area, and have excelled in their chosen field of endeavour. In 1995, Kootenay Savings Credit Union was seeking a project that would represent their commitment and appreciation to the Greater Trail community. The Credit Union decided to sponsor the construction of a monument which was constructed in the summer of 1996 outside their offices in Trail's downtown that would honour

14507-645: The base of Bonneville Dam , its head of tide . When the rifting of Pangaea , due to the process of plate tectonics , pushed North America away from Europe and Africa and into the Panthalassic Ocean (ancestor to the modern Pacific Ocean), the Pacific Northwest was not part of the continent. As the North American continent moved westward, the Farallon Plate subducted under its western margin. As

14670-518: The center of an extensive trading network across the Pacific Plateau. Celilo was the oldest continuously inhabited community on the North American continent. Salmon canneries established by white settlers beginning in 1866 had a strong negative impact on the salmon population, and in 1908 US president Theodore Roosevelt observed that the salmon runs were but a fraction of what they had been 25 years prior. As river development continued in

14833-466: The coastal area around the mouth of the river in the late 18th century, trading with local natives. The contact would prove devastating to the indigenous Chinookan speaking peoples; a large portion of their population was wiped out by a smallpox epidemic. Canadian explorer Alexander Mackenzie crossed what is now interior British Columbia in 1793. From 1805 to 1806, the Lewis and Clark Expedition entered

14996-427: The company name changed to Cominco . Over the following decades, the smelter spent millions on pollution control. In 1975, the soils in some parts of Trail were found to be contaminated with lead and certain other heavy metals ( arsenic , cadmium , zinc) to levels above regulatory limits. The monitored lead levels in the blood of local school children fell from high that year to insignificant 30 years later. In 2007,

15159-482: The company suspended dividends , cut spending, and sold some assets to save money. On January 9, 2009, the company also announced a plan to cut 13% of their total workforce, amounting to 1,400 jobs, saving the company US$ 85 million. Coal production targets were also lowered by 20% in response to declining worldwide demand for steel , in the midst of the global financial crisis . Beginning October 1, 2008, Teck Cominco began rebranding itself as Teck. The legal name of

15322-469: The company was changed to Teck Resources Ltd. on April 23, 2009, after being approved by shareholders the previous day. In 2008, Teck's $ 25 million donation to BC Children's Hospital Foundation earned its name attached to the Teck Acute Care Centre expected to complete construction in 2017. In July 2009, China Investment Corporation bought a 17% stake in Teck for C$ 1.74 billion. In 2012,

15485-444: The company's Red Dog mine operation in north-western Alaska has been ranked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as one of the most polluting facilities in the United States based on output tonnage of toxic waste , largely (over 99%) in the form of blasted and moved, but otherwise unprocessed, waste rock from mining operations. Residents living downstream from the mine launched a lawsuit against Teck Cominco, demanding that

15648-517: The company's 2018 annual report, the Vancouver -headquartered Teck Resources is a "diversified resource company" that focuses on "steelmaking coal, copper, zinc and energy", with ownership or interests in thirteen "operating mines, a large metallurgical complex, and several major development projects in the Americas." As of 2016 , 44% of revenue was from steel-making coal, 34% of revenue was from zinc, and

15811-633: The confluence with the Wenatchee River in central Washington. This C-shaped segment of the river is also known as the "Big Bend". During the Missoula Floods 10–15,000 years ago, much of the floodwater took a more direct route south, forming the ancient river bed known as the Grand Coulee . After the floods, the river found its present course, and the Grand Coulee was left dry. The construction of

15974-449: The construction of a Goldendale-based pumped hydroelectric energy storage project. Jeremy Takala of the Yakama Nation embodies Yakama belief on the importance of Columbia River crops to food and medicine, stating "the [Goldendale] project being proposed here, it will definitely impact our life".  The Goldendale-pumped hydro storage unit could allow for reused water use in reservoirs, which would be placed on mountainous terrain overlooking

16137-468: The emerging plains culture , such as equestrian and horse training skills, greatly increased mobility, hunting efficiency, trade over long distances, intensified warfare, the linking of wealth and prestige to horses and war, and the rise of large and powerful tribal confederacies. The Nez Perce and Cayuse kept large herds and made annual long-distance trips to the Great Plains for bison hunting, adopted

16300-459: The end of World War I , the smoke pollution had devastated the surrounding district. During the following decades, this triggered the Trail Smelter dispute , which resulted in decades of legal action. This case, known commonly as the "Trail smelter arbitration", is a landmark in environmental law, as it helped to establish the "polluter pays" principle for transnational pollution issues. In 1966,

16463-580: The end of 1902, Trail opened the first commercial electrolytic refining process in the world, producing pure lead, pure copper , fine silver and gold. In 1906, the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada (CM&S), a consortium comprising the smelter and certain Red Mountain mines at Rossland, was formed. CP had a 54 per cent holding. After the Northport smelter closed in 1921, Trail remained

16626-463: The fall of 2020, but British Columbia has not aligned their standards yet. Trail, the home of Teck's large lead-zinc smelter , has an extensive history of smelting. This has resulted in above-limit levels of lead, arsenic, zinc, and cadmium in soils in certain parts of the city. Starting in 2007, a free soil-testing program (paid for by Teck via the Trail Area Health and Environment Program)

16789-512: The floodwaters slowed in the broad flats of the Quincy, Othello, and Pasco Basins. The floods' periodic inundation of the lower Columbia River Plateau deposited rich sediments; 21st-century farmers in the Willamette Valley "plow fields of fertile Montana soil and clays from Washington's Palouse". Over the last several thousand years a series of large landslides have occurred on the north side of

16952-425: The goals are a blend of research, best practice, and innovative thinking. In 2007, the J. Lloyd Crowe Secondary School Replacement program started the construction of a new facility in Trail to replace the existing school that was built in the late 1950s. The new facility opened in September 2009. Trail’s education statistics differ sharply from that of the province in the percentage of the population aged 45–64 with

17115-490: The high bioaccumulation of selenium in fish, excessive levels of selenium in an aquatic ecosystem has implications for human health. In the spring of 2020, Teck Resources had "reported a dramatic decline in adult westslope cutthroat trout in Elk Valley waterways closest to its mines". Since 2015, British Columbia and Montana have agreed to adopt aligned standards for selenium levels by 2020. Montana's has been in force since

17278-632: The high, sandy slope of Smelter Hill on its left bank and the West Trail bank where early pioneer houses were built by immigrants as they purchased properties along the west bank steep terrain. In the early pioneer days industrious Chinese launderers and cooks spent time gardening in the defile of the Gulch. Few of these immigrants ever acquired rights to own land in the Gulch and their gardens were gradually displaced by Italians and other European working families who terraced their properties into level plots. Despite

17441-486: The idea that the landslide debris present today was formed by more than one slide is relatively recent and may explain the large range of estimates. It has been suggested that if the later dates are accurate there may be a link with the 1700 Cascadia earthquake . The pile of debris resulting from the Bonneville Slide blocked the river until rising water finally washed away the sediment. It is not known how long it took

17604-518: The jetties. In 1891, the Columbia was dredged to enhance shipping. The channel between the ocean and Portland and Vancouver was deepened from 17 feet (5.2 m) to 25 feet (7.6 m). The Columbian called for the channel to be deepened to 40 feet (12 m) as early as 1905, but that depth was not attained until 1976. Cascade Locks and Canal were first constructed in 1896 around the Cascades Rapids, enabling boats to travel safely through

17767-447: The largest run since 1938 was in 1986, with 3.2 million fish entering the Columbia. The annual catch by natives has been estimated at 42 million pounds (19,000 metric tons). The most important and productive native fishing site was located at Celilo Falls, which was perhaps the most productive inland fishing site in North America. The falls were located at the border between Chinookan- and Sahaptian-speaking peoples and served as

17930-442: The late 19th century, public and private sectors have extensively developed the river. To aid ship and barge navigation, locks have been built along the lower Columbia and its tributaries, and dredging has opened, maintained, and enlarged shipping channels . Since the early 20th century, dams have been built across the river for power generation , navigation , irrigation , and flood control . The 14 hydroelectric dams on

18093-577: The long-sought Northwest Passage. A 1798 British map showed a dotted line connecting the Columbia with the Missouri. When the American explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark charted the vast, unmapped lands of the American West in their overland expedition (1803–1805), they found no passage between the rivers. After crossing the Rocky Mountains , Lewis and Clark built dugout canoes and paddled down

18256-641: The lower courts against Teck, and fined Teck US$ 8 million for pollution. The company was fined $ 2.2 million in 2023. According to a March 8, 2021 article in The Narwhal , concerns have been raised about selenium pollution leaching from Teck Resources' Elk Valley open pit coal mines' waste rock, which is upstream from the Lake Koocanusa water system. Lake Koocanusa is in both British Columbia , Canada and Montana , United States . A September 24, 2020 Montana Department of Environmental Quality presentation to

18419-464: The mid- and lower Columbia were not tribal, but instead congregated in social units no larger than a village, and more often at a family level; these units would shift with the season as people moved about, following the salmon catch up and down the river's tributaries. Sparked by the 1847 Whitman Massacre , a number of violent battles were fought between American settlers and the region's natives. The subsequent wars over Northwest territory, especially

18582-472: The morning, as a cold air inversion lingers above the relatively warm river surface. Winters are mild to cold with periods of moderate snowfall. Nearby villages such as Warfield , Fruitvale and especially Rossland receive greater amounts of snow due to higher elevation. The Monashee Mountains are the first major mountain range east of the Coast Mountains to intercept moisture laden westerly flow from

18745-445: The navigation channel have continued to the present day. In 1990 a new round of studies examined the possibility of further dredging on the lower Columbia. The plans were controversial from the start because of economic and environmental concerns. Teck Resources Teck Resources Limited , known as Teck Cominco until late 2008, is a diversified natural resources company headquartered in Vancouver , British Columbia , that

18908-580: The north-northwest near Portland and Vancouver, Washington , at the Willamette River confluence. Here the river slows considerably, dropping sediment that might otherwise form a river delta at the Columbia's mouth. Near Longview, Washington and the Cowlitz River confluence, the river turns west again. The Columbia empties into the Pacific Ocean just west of Astoria, Oregon , over the Columbia Bar ,

19071-467: The plains culture to a significant degree, and became the main conduit through which horses and the plains culture diffused into the Columbia River region. Other peoples acquired horses and aspects of the plains culture unevenly. The Yakama, Umatilla, Palus, Spokane, and Coeur d'Alene maintained sizable herds of horses and adopted some of the plains cultural characteristics, but fishing and fish-related economies remained important. Less affected groups included

19234-415: The plate subducted, it carried along island arcs which were accreted to the North American continent, resulting in the creation of the Pacific Northwest between 150 and 90 million years ago. The general outline of the Columbia Basin was not complete until between 60 and 40 million years ago, but it lay under a large inland sea later subject to uplift. Between 50 and 20 million years ago, from

19397-688: The power plant. These harmful chemicals mainly consisted of aluminum. This event is commonly known today as the Salmon Scam . Shortly after the Salmon Scam, many Columbia River-based indigenous tribes received federally recognized status. The Siletz Tribe was the first to restore its federal recognition in 1977, followed by the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe in 1982, the Grand Ronde Tribe in 1983,

19560-533: The project, waiting for regulatory and local approval. It stated, "The promise of Canada's potential will not be realized until governments can reach agreement around how climate policy considerations will be addressed in the context of future responsible energy sector development. Without clarity on this critical question, the situation that has faced Frontier will be faced by future projects and it will be very difficult to attract future investment, either domestic or foreign.... Teck has not taken this decision lightly. It

19723-735: The rapid settlement and economic development of the region. Steamboats operated in several distinct stretches of the river: on its lower reaches, from the Pacific Ocean to Cascades Rapids; from the Cascades to the Dalles-Celilo Falls; from Celilo to Priests Rapids; on the Wenatchee Reach of eastern Washington; on British Columbia's Arrow Lakes ; and on tributaries like the Willamette , the Snake and Kootenay Lake . The boats, initially powered by burning wood, carried passengers and freight throughout

19886-460: The region for many years. Early railroads served to connect steamboat lines interrupted by waterfalls on the river's lower reaches. In the 1880s, railroads maintained by companies such as the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company began to supplement steamboat operations as the major transportation links along the river. As early as 1881, industrialists proposed altering the natural channel of

20049-499: The region of the proposed mine have economic agreements of support with Teck." At a CIBC investor conference in Banff, Alberta , CEO Don Lindsay said that the Frontier mining project could only go ahead if the "economics of the project make sense", according to a January 29, 2020 Globe and Mail article. Lindsay told the government that Teck will only proceed with the project if the pipeline

20212-428: The region's many cultural groups. The river system hosts many species of anadromous fish, which migrate between freshwater habitats and the saline waters of the Pacific Ocean. These fish—especially the salmon species—provided the core subsistence for native peoples . The first documented European discovery of the Columbia River occurred when Bruno de Heceta sighted the river's mouth in 1775. On May 11, 1792,

20375-498: The region. Following Hezeta's reports, British maritime fur trader Captain John Meares searched for the river in 1788 but concluded that it did not exist. He named Cape Disappointment for the non-existent river, not realizing the cape marks the northern edge of the river's mouth. What happened next would form the basis for decades of both cooperation and dispute between British and American exploration of, and ownership claim to,

20538-627: The region. Royal Navy commander George Vancouver sailed past the mouth in April 1792 and observed a change in the water's color, but he accepted Meares' report and continued on his journey northward. Later that month, Vancouver encountered the American captain Robert Gray at the Strait of Juan de Fuca . Gray reported that he had seen the entrance to the Columbia and had spent nine days trying but failing to enter. On May 12, 1792, Gray returned south and crossed

20701-717: The region. For many the final leg of the journey involved travel down the lower Columbia River to Fort Vancouver. This part of the Oregon Trail, the treacherous stretch from The Dalles to below the Cascades, could not be traversed by horses or wagons (only watercraft, at great risk). This prompted the 1846 construction of the Barlow Road . In the Treaty of 1818 the United States and Britain agreed that both nations were to enjoy equal rights in Oregon Country for 10 years. By 1828, when

20864-434: The remaining 21% was from copper. In Alberta, Teck has one operational oil sands project at Fort Hills—a C$ 17.0 billion project. Teck's application to develop a second larger C$ 20.0 billion open-pit petroleum mine—Frontier Mine—near Wood Buffalo National Park and north of Fort McMurray , Alberta, was withdrawn by the company in 2020. With its massive size—292 km (113 sq mi)—it may have been among

21027-568: The river he had not yet seen, becoming the first Euro-descended person to travel the entire length of the river. In 1825, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) established Fort Vancouver on the bank of the Columbia, in what is now Vancouver, Washington, as the headquarters of the company's Columbia District , which encompassed everything west of the Rocky Mountains, north of California, and south of Russian-claimed Alaska. Chief Factor John McLoughlin ,

21190-573: The river in 1792, proved that it was possible to cross the Columbia Bar. Many of the challenges associated with that feat remain today; even with modern engineering alterations to the mouth of the river, the strong currents and shifting sandbar make it dangerous to pass between the river and the Pacific Ocean. The use of steamboats along the river, beginning with the British Beaver in 1836 and followed by American vessels in 1850, contributed to

21353-451: The river ranks 23rd in length, and the Canadian part of its basin ranks 13th in size among Canadian basins. The Columbia shares its name with nearby places, such as British Columbia, as well as with landforms and bodies of water. With an average flow at the mouth of about 265,000 cu ft/s (7,500 m /s), the Columbia is the largest river by discharge flowing into the Pacific from

21516-479: The river to break through the barrier; estimates range from several months to several years. Much of the landslide's debris remained, forcing the river about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of its previous channel and forming the Cascade Rapids . In 1938, the construction of Bonneville Dam inundated the rapids as well as the remaining trees that could be used to refine the estimated date of the landslide. In 1980,

21679-635: The river's upper reaches in Canada. All three terms essentially mean "the big river". Oral histories describe the formation and destruction of the Bridge of the Gods , a land bridge that connected the Oregon and Washington sides of the river in the Columbia River Gorge. The bridge, which aligns with geological records of the Bonneville Slide, was described in some stories as the result of a battle between gods, represented by Mount Adams and Mount Hood , in their competition for

21842-405: The river, but nearly all the British colonists moved south to the Willamette Valley. The hope that the British colonists might dilute the American presence in the valley failed in the face of the overwhelming number of American settlers. These developments rekindled the issue of "joint occupation" and the boundary dispute . While some British interests, especially the Hudson's Bay Company, fought for

22005-430: The so-called "joint occupation" was renewed indefinitely, it seemed probable that the lower Columbia River would in time become the border between the two nations. For years the Hudson's Bay Company successfully maintained control of the Columbia River and American attempts to gain a foothold were fended off. In the 1830s, American religious missions were established at several locations in the lower Columbia River region. In

22168-610: The sole operator in the region. By 1925, the 1.0 km (250 acres) plant employed 2,100 men and comprised a lead plant, an electrolytic zinc plant, a copper smelter, a copper refinery, a silver and gold refinery, plants for making bluestone (Copper(II) sulfate), hydrofluosilicic acid and sulfuric acid , a foundry, a machine shop and round-house, and a copper rod mill. That year, CM&S processed 380,000 tons of ores and concentrates at Trail to recover 21,352 ounces of gold, nearly 4.5 million ounces of silver, 9,500 tons of copper, 117,500 tons of lead and almost 50,000 tons of zinc. By

22331-408: The steep terrain, these immigrant families planted vegetable gardens reminiscent of the old country sustained by water from Trail Creek and a hot summer sun. The Gulch is home to shops and the Terra Nova hotel, located at the entrance to Trail's central business district at the foot of Rossland Avenue. The Greater Trail Area is known as the Home of Champions , in recognition of those who reside in

22494-728: The subsidiary is fined more than $ 16 million for polluting waterways in the East Kootenay. In 2016, Teck produced 662,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate , and 311,000 tonnes of refined zinc. It was the world's third largest producer of mined zinc. Almost all of its mined zinc comes from the Red Dog mine in Alaska, one of the largest zinc mines in the world. It also produces refined zinc at its smelting and refining complex in Trail, British Columbia . The Trail complex also produces zinc refining byproducts, which as of 2016 included 99,000 tonnes of refined lead and 24.2 million ounces of silver. In 2016, Teck produced 324,200 tonnes of copper from mines in North and South America. Its largest mine

22657-510: The summer of 2019, a federal-provincial review concluded that Frontier Mine would be "in the public interest, even though it would be likely to harm the environment and the land, resources and culture of Indigenous people." Teck would use the paraffinic froth treatment (PFT) for the Frontier project, a technology that is already in use at Fort Hills, Imperial Oil 's Kearl Oil Sands, and Canadian Natural Resources 's (CNRL) Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP). This technology, which eliminates

22820-416: The summer. "The Onions" and other popular river currents that wind between the rocks on the east banks of the Columbia River, are a popular summer magnet for river activity. In the early 1900s a large influx of Italian immigrants lent a distinctive character to "The Gulch" which is located at the entrance to Trail accessed by the Schofield Highway which drops down the long grade from the city of Rossland and

22983-406: The total population according to the 1951 census , decreasing in number but increasing in proportion to 1,790 persons and 23.2 per cent as per the 1991 census , decreasing to 1,515 persons or 20.2 per cent in 1996 , falling further by 2011 to 1,290 persons or 17.4 per cent of the population, prior to a slight increase to 1,320 persons or 17.8 per cent according to the 2016 census . According to

23146-403: The total watershed. Flow rates on the Columbia are affected by many large upstream reservoirs, many diversions for irrigation, and, on the lower stretches, reverse flow from the tides of the Pacific Ocean. The National Ocean Service observes water levels at six tide gauges and issues tide forecasts for twenty-two additional locations along the river between the entrance at the North Jetty and

23309-440: The toxic smoke farther above Trail. Since lead was the most common ore in the region, the company built two lead furnaces, which were operational by the end of 1901. The next year, the federal government offered a subsidy of five dollars for each ton of lead smelted in Canada. However, the concentrate still required refining at the American Smelting and Refining Company 's plant in Tacoma, Washington . To address this problem, by

23472-503: The trades and historically very reliant on Teck Resources for employment. Employing approximately 1,800 people, Teck Resources (formerly Cominco) is the region’s largest employer. The average age of an employee at Teck Resources' Trail operation is 47. It is anticipated that within 15 years Teck Resources' Trail operation will have a completely new and different labour force. A younger and perhaps more technical labour force will most likely replace those that are retiring. The big picture for

23635-431: The trial initiated by the Colville Confederated Tribes , stipulates that some hazardous materials in the slag discharged from Teck's smelter in Trail, B.C., ended up in the Upper Columbia River south of the border. In his 2018 ruling in Pakootas, Michel and Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation v. Teck Cominco Metals , the United States District Judge for the District of Oregon, Michael J. McShane, agreed with

23798-484: The use of an upgrader, has a "lower GHG intensity than about half of the oil currently refined in the U.S.", according to Teck. The federal Environment Minister, Jonathan Wilkinson , told Canadian Press on January 28, 2020, that the federal cabinet's decision...will weigh what the province is doing to help Canada achieve its climate goal of net zero emissions by 2050. In a statement, Jason Nixon , Alberta's Environment Minister said that "[A]ll 14 First Nation groups in

23961-405: The village of Warfield and sub-division of Annabel onto Rossland Avenue. This neighbourhood which runs the length of Rossland Avenue is known as "the Gulch." Originally called the "Dublin Gulch" in the very early days, it eventually became known as "The Gulch" as it filled up with Italians who chose not to live on the original Trail townsite. The Gulch starts as throat of Trail Creek narrows between

24124-443: The watershed, mainly through industrial pollution and barriers to fish migration. The Columbia begins its 1,243 mi (2,000 km) journey in the southern Rocky Mountain Trench in British Columbia (BC). Columbia Lake  –  2,690 ft (820 m) above sea level  –  and the adjoining Columbia Wetlands form the river's headwaters . The trench is a broad, deep, and long glacial valley between

24287-416: The winter of 1807–08 at Kootanae House near the source of the Columbia at present-day Invermere, BC. Over the next few years he explored much of the river and its northern tributaries. In 1811 he traveled down the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, arriving at the mouth just after John Jacob Astor 's Pacific Fur Company had founded Astoria. On his return to the north, Thompson explored the one remaining part of

24450-651: The world's largest producers of metallurgical coal ." In 2012, as Chairman of Teck Resources Limited, Keevil Jr. was named as the Entrepreneur Of The Year for his significant contributions to British Columbia. The association between Teck and Cominco began in 1986, when Teck and two industry partners acquired a shareholding from CP Limited, and culminated with the merging of the two companies in July 2001. On May 8, 2006, Teck Cominco offered to purchase Inco for $ US16 billion, but CVRD eventually purchased it for $ US17 billion. On July 29, 2008, Teck Cominco announced an agreement with Fording Canadian Coal Trust , which owned

24613-458: Was 1,240,000 cu ft/s (35,000 m /s) in June 1894, before the river was dammed. The lowest flow recorded at The Dalles was 12,100 cu ft/s (340 m /s) on April 16, 1968, and was caused by the initial closure of the John Day Dam , 28 mi (45 km) upstream. The Dalles is about 190 mi (310 km) from the mouth; the river at this point drains about 237,000 sq mi (610,000 km ) or about 91 percent of

24776-417: Was Grays Bay at the mouth of Grays River . Gray's discovery of the Columbia River was later used by the United States to support its claim to the Oregon Country, which was also claimed by Russia , Great Britain , Spain and other nations. In October 1792, Vancouver sent Lieutenant William Robert Broughton , his second-in-command, up the river. Broughton got as far as the Sandy River at the western end of

24939-437: Was Ontario's first gold mine in commercial production. When the ore was exhausted in the 1960s, after 50 years of production, it had produced 3.7 million ounces of gold worth C$ 104 million. The Beaverdell Mine, purchased by Teck in 1969, went back even further to 1898, and produced silver until 1991. Norman B. Keevil (b.1910 in Pike Lake, Saskatchewan) a mining entrepreneur with a background in geophysics, acquired Teck-Hughes in

25102-409: Was also the site of a lead spill into the Columbia River on May 28, 2008. A September 2012 Globe and Mail article reported that the day the 2012 trial, "Canadian mining giant Teck Resources Ltd." had admitted in a U.S. court that effluent from its smelter in southeast British Columbia ha[d] polluted the Columbia River in Washington state for more than a century." The agreement, reached on the eve of

25265-468: Was completed in 1975. Among the main commodities are wheat and other grains, mainly for export. As of 2016, the Columbia ranked third, behind the Mississippi and Paraná rivers, among the world's largest export corridors for grain. The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens caused mudslides in the area, which reduced the Columbia's depth by 25 feet (7.6 m) for a 4-mile (6.4 km) stretch, disrupting Portland's economy. Efforts to maintain and improve

25428-437: Was entitled to possess and/or study the remains. Many different Native Americans and First Nations peoples have a historical and continuing presence on the Columbia. South of the Canada–US border, the Colville , Spokane , Coeur d'Alene , Yakama , Nez Perce , Cayuse , Palus , Umatilla , Cowlitz , and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs live along the US stretch. Along the upper Snake River and Salmon River ,

25591-433: Was filed against Teck, under the 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)—now known as the Superfund. Teck fought the case for years and finally lost in a 2018 ruling which fined Teck US$ 8 million for pollution. From 1930 and 1995, the "Canadian mining giant Teck Resources Ltd." had "discharged about 400 tons of slag daily — an estimated 9.97 million tons in total" — directly into

25754-513: Was instituted, with the priority being the removal of above-limit topsoils in residential yards of families with young children. The existing contamination has been attributed to the smelting activities that pre-date the 1997 advent of newer technologies at the smelting operation. The Trail Area Health and Environment Program is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, with the ultimate goal entailing soil sampling (with remediation on an as-needed basis) on all properties in Trail. In 2007,

25917-658: Was often called by investors, changed its name to Cominco in 1966. Cominco's core Sullivan Mine in Kimberley, British Columbia which began production of lead, zinc, silver and tin in 1909, would operate for more than 90 years until its ore reserves exhausted in 2001. Teck-Hughes Gold Mines Limited was established in 1913 in Ontario , following the discovery of gold in 1912 by prospectors Sandy McIntyre and James Hughes, in Teck Township—now known as Kirkland Lake . An American group of investors led by Charles Land Denison, including International Nickel Company (INCo)'s Ashton W. Johnston, acquired two thirds of Teck-Hughes' shares. It

26080-426: Was reviewed by the courts. In 2009, for the first time since the 1980s, what is now known as the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) changed the oil sands mining boundaries in the Athabasca oil sands in northeastern Alberta , Canada , partly in response to successful exploratory work that Teck and others had launched "north of the known limits"—on the west and east sides of the Athabasca River . When they "discovered

26243-420: Was submerged by the construction of The Dalles Dam, and the native fishing community was displaced. The affected tribes received a $ 26.8 million settlement for the loss of Celilo and other fishing sites submerged by The Dalles Dam. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs used part of its $ 4 million settlement to establish the Kah-Nee-Ta resort south of Mount Hood. In 1977, 75 indigenous fishermen of

26406-661: Was to be located about 120 km (75 mi) north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. The estimated cost of developing the Frontier operation was C$ 20 billion. According to Financial Post , this was more than "Teck's own market capitalization of C$ 18 billion." The Frontier mine 25 km (16 mi) south of Wood Buffalo National Park and north of Fort McMurray in northeast Alberta, was projected to produce 260,000 bbl/day every year for more than 40 years. Its first phase in 2026 would produce 85,000 bbl/day. The second phase would begin in 2036. The mine would potentially result in "billions of dollars of federal and province taxes". In

26569-429: Was transported to Butte, Montana , for refining. The plant capacity was soon increased from about 150 to 400 tons per day. However, with the supply of Rossland ore largely going south to Northport , the plant was unprofitable. The output was 50 per cent pure copper at best, and the yellow clouds of sulfur dioxide became health hazards for the region. When the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) expressed interest in buying

#651348