The Dalles Oregon - High Water Mark - Flood of 1894
Posted by: 
TheBeanTeam
N 45° 36.144 W 121° 11.069
10T E 641582 N 5051475
The Great Flood of 1894 severely damaged The Dalles along The Columbia River in Oregon. This marker denotes the water level of the flood.
It is interesting to note this high water mark is also an official NGS Benchmark
Waymark Code: WM4Q85
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 09/19/2008
Views: 21
From the web site Columbia River History:http://www.nwcouncil.org/history/Floods.asp
"The flood of 1894 crested in the Columbia on June 6 and 7, when the flow at The Dalles, Oregon, 191 miles inland from the ocean, peaked at 1,240,000 cubic feet per second on June 6. The annual average flow at The Dalles, where river data has been collected since 1879, is 191,400 cubic feet per second."
The event was reported across the nation as can be seen by these news archive results from Google. (
visit link)
In a 1915 report the U.S. Geological survey had this to say about the cause of the flood. (
visit link)
"The highest recorded flood in the Columbia River occurred in June, 1894. The highest floods on the tributaries of this river are invariably caused by "chinook"—a warm wind, usually accompanied by rain, occurring in the spring and fall. The fall "chinook" usually brings the highest waters, since it may occur immediately after a heavy snow has covered the mountain ranges."