Watercraft Lockage
The Dalles
Prior to 1957, when the navigation lock was completed, barge traffic was hampered by a small, outmoded and inadequate Dalles - Celilo Canal. The modern navigation lock at The Dalles Dam is 650 feet long and 86 feet wide, with a maximum lift of 90 feet, handling the increased size of tows with minimum delays. Several million tons of petroleum products, grains and other miscellaneous cargo move through the lock every year.
John Day
Lake Umatilla provides slack water for navigation, with a minimum 15 foot depth in the main channel. The navigation lock, located on the Washington shore, is 86 feet wide, 675 feet long, and provides 15 feet of water depth over the sills. With a 113-foot maximum lift, it is the highest single-lift lock in the free world. Millions of tons of commodities move through the locks every year, including petroleum, nitrogen, farm and forest products, grain and wood products.
Lock Operation
In the Columbia River system, the level of the water behind a dam is usually about 100 feet higher than that of the water below. The Dalles navigation lock serves all vessels regardless of size. Locking instructions are posted in signs visible to boats approaching the upper and lower gates. A pull-cord is located at each end of the lock for use by small craft operators. The lockmaster answers on an intercom. Red and green signal lights give visual directions. Radio operators should use Marine Channel 14 in contacting the lockmaster for instructions. We have a document that can be viewed in Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF) that explains how to lock through for recreational boaters who wish to navigate the various locks operated by the Corps of Engineers, it is “How to Lock Through a Navigational Lock Information Sheet” (136 Kbytes).
In going upstream through the lock (see diagram), the downstream gate opens and the vessel enters the locks. The downstream gate closes, the lock fills, the upstream gate opens and the vessel leaves the lock. A lockage takes about 20 minutes.
| With a tow going downstream, the lower lock gates (A) are closed and the filling valve (B) is opened, allowing the lock chamber to fill. The upper lock gates (C) open and allow the tow to enter the filled chamber. |  |
| The filling valve and upper gates are closed. Water drains out through the drain valve (D) until it is level with water beyond the lower gates. |  |
| The lower gates open and the tow leaves the lock chamber and proceeds downstream. This procedure is reversed if the tow is going upstream. |  |