PlacesPages: Waterfall

Geysers Geothermal Power Development Civil Engineering Landmark

Photo by Cliff West

On our family's California trip, my dad planned to spend a night in a motel in San Francisco, until he found out how much they cost. He then decided to head north to Santa Rosa, where we stayed in a much nicer and less expensive motel, saying we could always drive back to San Francisco. Yet, when the morning of March 17, 1992, came, we continued north instead, and came across signs for "The Geysers." Not knowing what "The Geysers" were, he decided to follow the signs and find out, hoping to perhaps discover California's version of Yellowstone's Old Faithful. Instead, after following a long and winding road, all we came across was a vista point with the plaque pictured above, declaring The Geysers Geothermal Power Development a California Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers, and we realized that whatever geysers might have been there had long since had geothermal power plants built on top of them. (We actually had seen one small spring along the road, but didn't bother to take a picture as at that point we still had hope there would be bigger ones up the road. There weren't.)

Photo by Cliff West

This is an example of what we found instead. Pacific Gas & Electric Units 5 & 6 were started up in December 1971 and have a combined generating capacity of 110 megawatts. After the 1996 deregulation of California's power generation industry, Pacific Gas & Electric sold its geothermal power plants at The Geysers to the Calpine Corporation in 1999. Today, this facility is called the McCabe Power Plant and is still in operation.

Photo by Cliff West

Though hardly worth the long drive, the viewpoint did offer some scenic vistas. Here is what appears to be a spring emerging from the hillside to form a small waterfall as it cascades down into Big Sulfur Creek. The Geysers is the world's largest geothermal field, but it never actually contained any geysers. It was named by a white settler named William Bell Elliot who stumbled across the area in 1847. The phenomena in this area are actually fumaroles, which emit only steam. Tourists began coming to the area in 1848, and construction of The Geysers Resort Hotel began in 1854 near the vista point. Though the hotel was destroyed by fire on February 2, 1938, the resort continued operating with cabins until 1980, when it was dismantled.

Pacific Gas & Electric Units 3 & 4 and Units 7 & 8

Photo by Cliff West

In the foreground are Pacific Gas & Electric Units 3 & 4, which were started up in 1967 and 1968, respectively. Each had a generating capacity of 28 megawatts. These units were taken offline in 1992 (as this picture was taken in March, I am not sure if they were already offline or not) and were dismantled in 1995.

On top of the hill are Pacific Gas & Electric Units 7 & 8. They were started up in November 1972 and have a combined generation capacity of 110 megawatts. Sold to Calpine Corporation in 1999, this facility is still operating today as the Ridge Line Power Plant.

Photo by Cliff West

Here is another view of Pacific Gas & Electric Units 3 & 4 from a point further down the road. In 1920, a gravel pit owner from Healdsburg, California, named John D. Grant took out a lease on The Geysers property with a plan to use the steam to generate electricity. His first well, drilled in 1921, was unsuccessful, but his second well became the first successful geothermal well drilled for electrical power generation outside the Larderello Geothermal Field in Tuscany, Italy. Grant completed the 318 foot deep well in July 1923 and subsequently built a 35-kilowatt power plant, however, startup costs and technical problem combined with cheap oil prices doomed the venture. Some of the General Electric generating equipment was eventually used to power The Geysers Resort Hotel.

Photo by Cliff West

In 1955, the Magma Power Company drilled a new modern well at The Geysers, followed by five more in the next two years. In October 1958, Pacific Gas & Electric signed a contract to purchase steam for power generation. Pacific Gas & Electric's first geothermal plant at The Geysers was started up in September 1960.

Photo by Cliff West

As we continued down the road, we came across this odd abandoned structure. This is the former headquarters of the Cloverdale Mining Company, which mined cinnabar for the production of quicksilver, or liquid mercury. Cinnabar, or mercury sulfide, was discovered in this area around 1863, and was being mined here by 1875. The Cloverdale Mining Company operated until about 1960.

Willamette Falls, August 19, 2006

Access to the Willamette River above Willamette Falls, 26 miles from the mouth of the river, was not easily achieved in Oregon City's early days. Local farmers and shipping interests wanted to eliminate portages around the falls, an expensive and time-consuming operation.

The Willamette Falls Canal & Locks Company was formed in 1868 to build the Willamette Falls Locks around the falls. A total of five locks, including a canal basin and a guard lock at the upper end with a total length of 3,565 feet, were necessary on the west end of the falls to provide a total lift of 41 feet. Though the locks are closely associated with Oregon City, they are actually located on the other side of the Willamette River in West Linn. The locks were carved out of the native rock and finished with masonry and concrete sills and lined with timbers. Built in 1872, the project was completed at a cost of $560,000, including $200,000 in gold bonds raised by the state of Oregon. The Willamette Falls Locks were the first multi-lift locks in the United States when they opened on New Years Day, 1873. The steamer Maria Wilkins became the first ship to navigate the locks.

Historical Photo:
Canal & Locks at Oregon City, 1872 (Oregon State Library)

The locks went through a series of owners before the United States Army Corps of Engineers purchased them from the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company in 1915 for $375,000. From 1916 to 1921, the Corps of Engineers made a major renovation to the locks, deepening the lock chambers from 3 to 6 feet to allow the passage of deeper draft vessels. Another renovation began in 1941 which replaced the original manually-operated wooden lock gates with hydraulically-operated metal lock gates. Over the years the locks have survived floods in the late 1800s, 1927, 1948, 1964, the 1970s and 1996.

Willamette Falls Locks Plaques, February 1, 2010

The locks were placed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 5, 1974, and were designated an Oregon Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1991 by the Oregon Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers as Oregon's first water resources development project.

Willamette Falls Locks Plaques, February 1, 2010

The locks were closed after the January 12, 2008 passage of the sternwheeler Willamette Queen, due to necessary inspection and repairs for which there was no funding. Funding was provided through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 to inspect and repair the locks and restore seasonal operation in 2010. On February 1, 2010, the Willamette Queen became the first vessel to pass through the reopened locks. She passed back through the locks on her return trip up the river on February 19, 2010.

The locks operated through the summer of 2010, but a lack of funding for their operation kept them closed in 2011, except for occasional operation for maintenance or prearranged commercial traffic. Due to corrosion of the gudgeon anchors that fasten the gates to the walls, the locks were closed entirely in December 2011. With no funding for repairs, the locks have been classified as non-operational, and are expected to remain permanently closed, although they were operated briefly on January 8, 2013 and July 16, 2013 to allow the Canby Ferry M.J. Lee II to be transported to Portland for repairs and then returned to Canby. Other vessels left stranded by the closure of the locks were also moved through during these openings.

Each of the four lock chambers is 40 feet wide and 210 feet long. They can accommodate vessels up to 175 feet long and 37 feet wide with a draft of up to 6 feet. Lock Chamber 1 and 2 were cut into solid rock, but chambers 3 and 4 and the guard lock had to be built with stone masonry, using locally-quarried stones 5 to 15 feet high. Most of the stone was brought from a quarry on the Clackamas River about 10 miles away with a smaller amount from a quarry near the bottom of the locks.

View of the Downstream Approach to the Willamette Falls Locks from the Oregon City Municipal Elevator on August 19, 2006.

Downstream Approach to the Willamette Falls Locks

At the bottom of the locks is a 150-foot downstream approach leading from the Willamette River to the first set of lock gates and Lock Chamber #1.

First set of Willamette Falls Lock Gates

This is the first set of lock gates. This series of pictures shows the water level behind them in Lock Chamber #1 rising.

First set of Willamette Falls Lock Gates

The placards on top of the gates indicate if the four slide valves at the bottom of the gates are open or closed.

Willamette Falls Lock Chamber #1

Here is Lock Chamber #1, first looking downstream at the first set of lock gates, and then upstream at the second set of lock gates. The water level in the chamber is fairly low in these pictures. The gates for the other lock chambers can be seen in the background, illustrating the elevation change.

Willamette Falls Lock Chamber #1

Willamette Falls Lock Chamber #2

These views show Lock Chamber #2, looking downstream towards the second set of lock gates. The water level is fairly high in these pictures.

Willamette Falls Lock Chamber #2

Third Set of Willamette Falls Lock Gates

This is the third set of lock gates looking upstream from Lock Chamber #2. All the slide valves at the bottom of the gates are open and clearly visible. The locks are entirely gravity fed through these gates, which allow water to flow from an upper chamber into a lower one. 850,000 gallons of water can flow out of the lock chamber through these valves in a matter of minutes.

Third Set of Willamette Falls Lock Gates

In this view of the third set of lock gates, the slide valves are mostly closed, and the valves themselves are clearly visible.

Willamette Falls Lock Gates Opening

Here the third set of gates is shown opening during a test run. The gate on the east side apparently got hung up by some debris.

Willamette Falls Lock Gate Stuck

Willamette Falls Lock Operator Clearing Debris

Here is the lock operator using a long pole with a hook on the end to clear debris out of the gate's way.

Willamette Falls Lock Gate Piston

Here is one of the hydraulic pistons the operates the gates. This one is for the third set of gates on the west side.

Third Set of Willamette Falls Lock Gates Open

This series of pictures shows the third set of gates looking downstream from Lock Chamber #3. First the gates are open to Lock Chamber #2.

Third Set of Willamette Falls Lock Gates Closed

Here the gates are closed but the valves are open allowing water to drain from Lock Chamber #3 to Lock Chamber #2.

Third Set of Willamette Falls Lock Gates

Then the valves are closed and the water level rises to fill Lock Chamber #3.

Third Set of Willamette Falls Lock Gates

Fourth Set of Willamette Falls Lock Gates

Here are a number of views of the fourth set of lock gates, looking upstream from Lock Chamber #3. In the first views the sliding valves are closed and water in draining from Lock Chamber #3 into Lock Chamber #2.

Fourth Set of Willamette Falls Lock Gates

In this view the water level in Lock Chamber #3 is at its lowest level.

Fourth Set of Willamette Falls Lock Gates

In this view, one slide valve in each gate is opening, allowing water to flow through into Lock Chamber #3 from Lock Chamber #4.

Fourth Set of Willamette Falls Lock Gates

In this view, the two valves are completely open.

Fourth Set of Willamette Falls Lock Gates

In this view, taken during a different filling sequence, the water level is nearly up to the valves.

Fourth Set of Willamette Falls Lock Gates

In this view, the Lock Chamber #3 is completely filled with water. At this point, the gates between the chambers could be opened to let a vessel pass through.

Below is a video of the locks in operation during a test run, filmed from this location.

Willamette Falls Locks

Fourth Set of Willamette Falls Lock Gates

This view shows the fourth set of lock gates looking downstream from Lock Chamber #4, with the water level in the chamber filled to the top.

Willamette Falls Locks looking downstream

This view shows the elevation change of the locks, looking down the locks from Lock Chamber #4 at the top to the Lower Willamette River at the bottom.

West Linn Paper Company Drawbridge

This counterweighted bascule drawbridge across Lock Chamber #4 connects the West Linn Paper Company mill to its warehouse. The bridge has a 15-ton load limit. It is raised when necessary to provide clearance for vessels in the lock chamber. beyond the bridge is the fifth set of lock gates. The 2-story building on the right is the original lock master's office, now the Willamette Falls Locks Historical Information Center & Museum.

Willamette Falls Guard Lock and Canal Basin

Beyond Lock Chamber #4 is the Canal Basin and, visible in the distance, the Guard Lock, which regulates the amount of water entering the lock chambers and serves as a flood control device. Beyond that is the 300-foot upstream approach from the upper gate.

Display at the Willamette Falls Locks Historical Information Center & Museum on February 2, 2010.

The Willamette Falls Locks Historical Information Center & Museum is usually only open when the locks are in operation. The museum mostly consist of historic photographs but does have some artifacts and other displays.

Display at the Willamette Falls Locks Historical Information Center & Museum on February 2, 2010.

West Linn Paper Company Sign on Drawbridge Counterweight.

On February 1, 2010, the sternwheeler Willamette Queen became the first vessel to pass through the newly reopened Willamette Falls Locks on its way to Portland for a Coast Guard inspection. The West Linn Paper Company acknowledged the occasion on this sign on the bascule bridge's counterweight.

Willamette Queen entering the Guard Lock on February 1, 2010.

Willamette Queen leaving the Guard Lock on February 1, 2010.

Here is the Willamette Queen leaving the Guard Lock in the Canal Basin, as seen from the second floor of the museum.

Willamette Queen in the Canal Basin on February 1, 2010.

Willamette Queen in Lock Chamber #4 on February 1, 2010.

The Willamette Queen is in Lock Chamber #4, with the West Linn Paper Company's drawbridge raised to provide clearance.

Willamette Queen in Lock Chamber #4 on February 1, 2010.

The Willamette Queen is behind Gate #4 as water flows through the sliding gates from Lock Chamber #4 into Lock Chamber #3.

Willamette Queen in Lock Chamber #4 on February 1, 2010.

With the water levels equalized, the gates open and the boat moves forward to the next chamber.

Willamette Queen in Lock Chamber #3 on February 1, 2010.

Here is the Willamette Queen in Lock Chamber #3.

Willamette Queen in Lock Chamber #3 on February 1, 2010.

Willamette Queen in Lock Chamber #4 on February 1, 2010.

Willamette Queen in Lock Chamber #3 on February 1, 2010.

The Willamette Queen is in Lock Chamber #3 behind Gate #3 as water flows to Lock Chamber #2.

Willamette Queen in Lock Chamber #3 on February 1, 2010.

Willamette Queen passing from Lock Chamber #3 to Lock Chamber #2 on February 1, 2010.

The Willamette Queen passes through Gate #3 from Lock Chamber #3 into Lock Chamber #2.

Willamette Queen in Lock Chamber #2 on February 1, 2010.

The Willamette Queen is in Lock Chamber #2 behind Gate #2 as water flows from Lock Chamber #2 to Lock Chamber #1.

Willamette Queen in Lock Chamber #2 on February 1, 2010.

Willamette Queen in Lock Chamber #1 on February 1, 2010.

The Willamette Queen is in Lock Chamber #1 as the water level drops.

Willamette Queen in Lock Chamber #1 on February 1, 2010.

Willamette Queen passing under the Willamette River Bridge between Oregon City and West Linn on February 1, 2010.

The Willamette Queen continues under the Oregon City Bridge and down the lower Willamette River on its way to Portland.

Below is a video of the Willamette Queen passing through the Willamette Falls Locks.

“Willamette Queen” Sternwheeler at the Willamette Falls Locks

Continue to 8: Henry Weinhard Building…

Monday, February 19, 2018

1992 California Trip: The Geysers

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Oregon City #7: Willamette Falls Locks