Week 3 Running water Joshua E

This week I visited a local Dam the McNary Dam that runs off the watershed of the local area that forms into the Columbia River. This was a bit out of town, off a section of the Columbia River that is part of the dividing marker between Oregon and Washington state. What's interesting about it is that the highway you travel passes right past this hydroelectric dam, providing a spectacular view as you pass. Little known fact but the only river in the United States that provides consists of more runoff than the Columbia River is the Mississippi River. However, as you can see from my provided pics the Mississippi has quite a bit more to draw from. Obviously, the McNary Dam is built on the trunk stream of the basin runoff. The runoff that combines to create the  Columbia River is composed mostly of a Dendric pattern of streams but also some localized Radial due to some ancient volcanic activity that shapes many of the mountains. When observing the river both from the dam and traveling down its length the flow of the river is very laminar in appearance at most times. Combine that with a very wide and shallow channel and it turns out you get the perfect environment for the local boat races coming up later this month. The clam surface is the perfect environment for such boats to reach speeds in excess of 90pmh.