The Columbia River starts at Columbia Lake near Canal Flats on the western flank of the Rocky Mountains in BC and travels northwards past Golden before it curves sharply to the west and south at the place known as "the Big Bend." It continues southwards past Revelstoke, forms the Arrow Lakes, then continues south past Castlegar and Trail before crossing the 49th parallel into the United States.

The Columbia was a major transporation route for First Nations and later for fur traders of the North West Co. and Hudson's Bay Co. In 1846 the Treaty of Washington established the 49th parallel as the boundary between British and American territory west of the Rockies (except for the southern tip of Vancouver Island). This effectively blocked the southern portion of the Columbia as a major transporation corridor for the Hudson's Bay Co., but it continued to serve other merchants and gold seekers entering BC from Washington State for many years.

The Canadian portion of the river, 465 miles in length, comprises 15% per cent of the 200,060 square miles of the river's total watershed. There are eight dams on the American portion, and in 1964 a treaty was drawn between Canada and the US providing for the construction of 3 dams: the Mica, Duncan and Arrow in BC that would increase power and flood control for this province as well as greatly enhance the efficiency of the down river dams.

Resources:

National Geographic Virtual World website: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/00/earthpulse/columbia/index_flash.html

Great Canadian Rivers website: http://www.greatcanadianrivers.com/rivers/columbia/columbia-home.html

In spite of the fact that these dams were financed with American money and that BC received considerable return, both in money and electric power, some Canadians felt the entire project would have been more beneficial to BC if these resources had been developed entirely by Canadian capital.