Columbia River Fish Ladder

It is really fascinating to be able to watch fish navigate through fish ladders. On the Columbia River fish ladders have been installed to allow salmon and steelhead to pass around the dam barriers and proceed on their natural migration. These fish ladders are a series of low steps, with ladder barriers and partitions to encourage the fish where to swim. The trick to getting the fish to use the ladder is to have the velocity of the water falling over the steps fast enough to attract the fish to the ladder but not so strong as to exhaust them.

The fish are counted in a room near the public fish viewing rooms. At the Bonneville Lock and Dam on the Oregon side fish viewing rooms there is a webcam installed so even after your cruise is over you can check up on the fish from wherever you live.

Plan a great Columbia River trip, continue to our Portland Guide:
Things to do in Portland
or
Portland Hotels