About the Scenic Area

The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is a spectacular area stretching 85 miles long and includes portions of three Oregon and three Washington counties. Formed by ancient volcanoes and sculpted by incredible floods, the Columbia River Gorge carves a spectacular corridor through the Cascade Mountains in Oregon and Washington as the great river journeys to the Pacific Ocean.

As the only sea-level route from the Great Basin to the Pacific Ocean, the Gorge is a land of contrasts. The western Gorge, with an average annual rainfall of 75 inches, is a place of misty mountains, rich forestlands and more waterfalls than any area in the country. The eastern Gorge, with an annual rainfall of less than 15 inches, is a scenic place of rim-rock bluffs, rolling hills, farm and ranchlands.

 
The Columbia River Gorge is more than just scenery, it’s a place where thousands of people make their homes, work and play. In the 1960s and ‘70s, population growth in the Portland-Vancouver area created opposing pressures for protection and development of the Gorge. Concern grew that urban sprawl would move eastward, spawning uses that would spoil one of America’s scenic treasures. This concern mobilized citizens of the Northwest, who worked with congressional leaders to create the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act. The Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on November 17, 1986.

The National Scenic Area Act designated for special protection 292,500 acres on both sides of the Columbia from the outskirts of Portland-Vancouver in the west to the semi-arid regions of Wasco and Klickitat counties in the east. The National Scenic Area is categorized into three areas:  Special Management Areas, General Management Areas and Urban Areas.

Special Management Areas (SMA), which contain the most sensitive resources, total 114,600 acres and are managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

General Management Areas,(GMA), with 149,400 acres, include a mixture of historic land uses such as farming, logging and cattle grazing. The Columbia River itself is currently designated GMA as well. Development on GMA lands is administered by Gorge counties and the Gorge Commission in Klickitat County, Washington.

Exempt from any Scenic Area regulations are 13 Urban Areas in the Gorge: Cascade Locks, Hood River, Mosier and The Dalles in Oregon, and North Bonneville, Stevenson, Carson, Home Valley, White Salmon, Bingen, Lyle, Dallesport and Wishram in Washington.

Along with the Gorge’s world-class scenery, the Act mandates the protection and enhancement of three other important resources: cultural, natural and recreation. The Act’s second purpose is to protect and support the economy of the Gorge by encouraging growth in existing Urban Areas and by allowing future economic development in a manner that is consistent with protection and enhancement of resources.

The Columbia Gorge is renowned foremost for its spectacular beauty. The Gorge's scenic resources span a diverse array of landscapes including rain forests, rolling farmlands and semi-arid grasslands. Cultural resources, epitomized by the famous Indian petroglyph “She Who Watches”, trace a human history in the Gorge that is 10,000 years old. They include prehistoric sites and historic structures. Natural Resources refer to wildlife, plants, streams, lakes, wetlands and riparian corridors that are found in abundance throughout the Scenic Area. And then there is recreation . . . The National Scenic Area is known worldwide for the variety and quality of its recreational opportunities: windsurfing, hiking, fishing, mountain biking, kayaking, and kiteboarding.

One thing that differentiates the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area from national parks and monuments is land ownership, as nearly half of the lands in the Scenic Area are in private ownership.

Since the Scenic Area was created, developments and new land uses have been reviewed in the Scenic Area. Development is occurring but in a controlled framework that protects the very resources that make the Scenic Area so special.

The protection and enhancement of Scenic Area resources, in turn, help drive the Act’s second purpose: economic development. People visit the Scenic Area to view the unspoiled scenery and take advantage of the Gorge’s unparalleled recreational opportunities, which helps fuel the Gorge’s booming visitor and recreation industries. In recent years, new firms have located here in part due to the quality of life associated with these outstanding scenic and recreation resources. The Act also sustains the Gorge’s economic health by preserving important agricultural and forest lands.