Editing Columbia River (section)

== Discharge ==

[[File:Columbia River Mouth and Bar.jpg|thumb|[[Bathymetric]] map of the mouth of the Columbia River]]
With an average flow at the mouth of about {{cvt|265,000|ft3/s|m3/s|abbr=on}},<ref name="USGSrivers">{{cite web |first = J. C. |last = Kammerer |url = http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1987/ofr87-242/ |title = Largest Rivers in the United States |publisher = United States Geological Survey |date = May 1990 |access-date = April 1, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170129040848/https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1987/ofr87-242/ |archive-date = January 29, 2017 |url-status = live }}</ref> the Columbia is the largest river by discharge flowing into the Pacific from the Americas<ref>{{cite web |title=Legend and Legacy: Fifty Years of Defense Production at the Hanford Site |first = Michele |last = Gerber |year = 1992 |url = http://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/Website/Classroom%20Materials/Curriculum%20Packets/Cold%20War%20&%20Red%20Scare/Documents/51.html |publisher = University of Washington Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest |access-date = January 26, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170527203435/http://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/Website/Classroom%20Materials/Curriculum%20Packets/Cold%20War%20%26%20Red%20Scare/Documents/51.html |archive-date = May 27, 2017 |url-status = live |df = mdy-all }}</ref> and is the fourth-largest by volume in the U.S.<ref name="USGSrivers" /> The average flow where the river crosses the international border between Canada and the United States is {{cvt|2,790|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}} from a drainage basin of {{cvt|102,800|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Canadian Encyclopedia" /> This amounts to about 15 percent of the entire Columbia watershed. The Columbia's highest recorded flow, measured at The Dalles, was {{cvt|1,240,000|ft3/s|m3/s|abbr=on}} in June 1894, before the river was dammed.<ref name="Dalles">{{cite web |url = http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?14105700 |title = USGS Real-Time Water Data for USGS 14105700 Columbia River at the Dalles, OR |publisher = United States Geological Survey |access-date = August 6, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140715004022/http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?14105700 |archive-date = July 15, 2014 |url-status = live }}</ref> The lowest flow recorded at The Dalles was {{cvt|12,100|ft3/s|m3/s|abbr=on}} on April 16, 1968, and was caused by the initial closure of the [[John Day Dam]], {{cvt|28|mi|km|abbr=on}} upstream.<ref name="Dalles" /> The Dalles is about {{cvt|190|mi|km|abbr=on}} from the mouth; the river at this point drains about {{cvt|237,000|mi2|km2|abbr=on}} or about 91 percent of the total watershed.<ref name="Dalles" /> 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 [[tide]]s of the Pacific Ocean. The [[National Ocean Service]] observes water levels at six [[tide gauge]]s and issues tide forecasts for twenty-two additional locations along the river between the entrance at the North Jetty and the base of [[Bonneville Dam]], its [[head of tide]].<ref>{{cite web |author = NOAA Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services |title = NOAA Tide Predictions |publisher = U.S. Department of Commerce |year = 2013 |url = https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.html?gid=1415 |access-date = April 8, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161220030719/https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.html?gid=1415 |archive-date = December 20, 2016 |url-status = live }}</ref>
{{Bar chart
| title       =  Columbia River at [[Westport, Oregon|Port Westward]], 86 km from the mouth ({{coord|46|10|55.74|N|123|11|11.0148|W}}), 1992–2023:<ref name="USGS 14246900 COLUMBIA RIVER AT PORT WESTWARD, NEAR QUINCY, OR">{{cite web|url=https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/inventory?site_no=14246900&agency_cd=USGS|title=USGS 14246900 COLUMBIA RIVER AT PORT WESTWARD, NEAR QUINCY, OR}}</ref>
| label_type  = Year
| data_type   = Average discharge (m<sup>3</sup>/s)
| bar_width   = 18
| width_units = em
| data_max    = 9,600
| label1  = 2023
| data1  = 5,165
| label2  = 2022
| data2  = 6,986
| label3  = 2021
| data3  = 5,397
| label4  = 2020
| data4  = 5,839
| label5  = 2019
| data5  = 5,386
| label6  = 2018
| data6  = 7,221
| label7  = 2017
| data7  = 8,795
| label8  = 2016
| data8  = 6,343
| label9  = 2015
| data9  = 5,862
| label10= 2014
| data10 =7,280
| label11= 2013
| data11 =6,963
| label12 =2012
| data12 =8,481
| label13 =2011
| data13 =8,852
| label14=2010
| data14=5,847
| label15=2009
| data15=5,998
| label16=2008
| data16=6,652
}}
{{Bar chart
| title       =  (continues)
| label_type  = Year
| data_type   = Average discharge (m<sup>3</sup>/s)
| bar_width   = 18
| width_units = em
| data_max    = 9,600
| label1=2007
| data1=6,524
| label2=2006
| data2=6,830
| label3=2005
| data3=5,213
| label4=2004
| data4=5,505
| label5=2003
| data5=5,913
| label6=2002
| data6=6,230
| label7=2001
| data7=3,964
| label8=2000
| data8=6,567
| label9=1999
| data9=8,487
| label10=1998
| data10=6,943
| label11=1997
| data11=9,578
| label12=1996
| data12=9,325
| label13=1995
| data13=6,315
| label14=1994
| data14=4,845
| label15=1993
| data15=6,176
| label16=1992
| data16=5,179
}}
{{Bar chart
| title       =  Columbia River multiannual average discharge:<ref name="USGS">{{cite web|url=https://www.usgs.gov|title=USGS}}</ref><ref name="Columbia River">{{cite web|url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/V1/index.php/component/content/?view=article&id=33&catid=184&Itemid=179|title=Rivers Network - Columbia River|first=Eric|last=Tilman|website=Rivers Network}}</ref>
| label_type  = Location, period
| data_type   = Average discharge (m<sup>3</sup>/s)
| bar_width   = 14
| width_units = em
| data_max    = 7,134
| label1=[[Astoria, Oregon|Astoria]], 1892–2023
| data1=7,134
| label2=[[Westport, Oregon|Port Westward]], 1879–2023
| data2=7,048
| label3=[[The Dalles, Oregon|The Dalles]], 1879–2023<sup>*</sup>
| data3=5,338
| label5=International boundary, 1938–2023
| data5=2,812
}}
<sup>*</sup>1858–1899: 6,280 m<sup>3</sup>/s