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Columbia River

Cultural  
  1. River that runs from British Columbia, Canada, to the Pacific Ocean and passes between Oregon and Washington.


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Known for its great salmon runs in spring.

The site of the Bonneville and Grand Coulee Dams.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

McBride was seated at the kitchen table of his custom-built home, two miles above the Columbia River in rural Washington state.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 15, 2026

The 35-year-old aims to raise her kids in a soon-to-be-built house overlooking the Columbia River and has her eye on Airbnb investments to cash in on the region’s growth.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025

As he spoke, a steady rain pattered on the promenade facing Portland, just across the Columbia River.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 27, 2024

Wilcove describes fish ladders installed on dams in the Columbia River that allowed adult salmon to travel upstream but offered no accommodation for juveniles heading in the opposite direction, leading local populations to collapse.

From Slate • Aug. 28, 2024

Meanwhile, DuPont began work on the next stage of the manufacturing cycle: a full-scale production plant located on a bend of the Columbia River in central Washington State, near the little town of Hanford.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik