Rare film footage of Celilo Falls
on the Columbia River

This film footage of Celilo Falls is silent, no audio track

Celilo Falls, called Wy-am meaning “echo of falling water” by the local Indian tribes, stopped falling on the morning of March 10, 1957, when The Dalles Dam closed and the reservoir upstream filled.  In a matter of hours a great meeting and market place that had existed for thousands of years ended.  The falls attracted as many as 5,000 people for trade, feasts, and for religious ceremonies and games, and formed the focal point for many permanent tribal villages.  No fishing was allowed until after the first salmon ceremony, and local elders and chiefs, who started and ended each day’s fishing with a whistle, regulated the fishing. 

The falls consisted of a series of rapids with a total drop of 83 feet and a single tallest drop of 22 feet.  Three sections, Horseshoe Falls, The Cul de Sac, and the main channel, formed the complete falls.  At normal flows the crest length was over 15,000 feet.  In volume it was one of North Americas largest waterfalls.