Metaline Falls exposed one more time

A rare Pend Oreille River drawdown behind Boundary Dam reached its low point last fall, exposing Metaline Falls for the first time in 27 years. In the morning of Sept. 20, 2011, the drawdown is set to be repeated for another work project at Boundary Dam. Canadian explorer and fur trader David Thompson scouted the area in 1812 looking for a shorter route to the Columbia River for the North West Company’s fur trade. Thompson found the river at Metaline Falls and downstream at Z Canyon to be enclosed by steep rock cliffs and boiling with whitewater. He concluded it was impassable, and turned back. Completion of Boundary Dam in 1967 changed the nature of the canyon. Here are photos from the September 2010 drawdown to give viewers a glimpes of what's in store Tuesday. The photos are matched with historic photos from The Spokesman-Review archives.

Section:Gallery

Mon., Sept. 19, 2011

In 1963, The Pend Oreille River flowed naturally over picturesque Metaline Falls. The nearby town's namesake were inundated by the reservoir behind Boundary Dam, which started operatingin1967.
The Pend Oreille River zigzagged through Z Canyon in this photo taken in 1937. The river's energy would be harnessed by the Boundary Dam, which was dedicated in September 1967. The dam is owned by Seattle City Light.
Z Canyon was so narrow at this point, a foot bridge was dropped across the gorge in this 1920s-era photo.
Boundary Dam, which went online in 1967, changed the nature of the Pend Oreille River. In this 1997 photo, a movie set was changing the look of the dam. Scenes for the movie "The Postman,'" starring Kevin Costner, Larenz Tate and Olivia Williams, were filmed at a futuristic cliff dwelling built as a movie set on the face of the dam.
The Highway 31 bridge over the Pend Oreille River to the town of Metaline Falls, shown here in the new wider version after it was built in 1954, is a good spot to look downstream at the former site of Metaline Falls
At full pool and normal operations behind Boundary Dam, the modern Pend Oreille River is a scenic paddling trip into the Z Canyon area.
Interpretive signs at the east end of the Highway 31 Bridge over the Pend Oreille River help tell the history of Metaline Falls.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Interpretive signs at the east end of the Highway 31 Bridge over the Pend Oreille River help tell the history of Metaline Falls.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Metaline Falls, shown here below the northeastern Washington town of the same name, showed up for the first time in 27 years on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 10-11, 2010, during a maintenance project at Boundary Dam. The Pend Oreille River reservoir level was lowered from a normal high of 1,990 feet elevation down to 1,959 feet, exposing the falls which are upstream about 11 miles from the Dam.

Peter Clarke Seattle City Light
This photo was made from the east end of the State Highway 31 Bridge at the town of Metaline Falls in early September, 2010, during normal operations at Boundary Dam. The rock protruding from the Pend Oreille river indicates the inundated site of the inundated rapids of Metaline Falls.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
This photo was made during the Boundary Dam Reservoir drawdown on Sept. 11, 2010, from the east end of the State Highway 31 Bridge at the town of Metaline Falls. The rock protruding from the Pend Oreille River at left center is the size of a large travel trailer and is just below the first drop of Metaline Falls. The reservoir's high water line is apparent on the rock cliffs on the right.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Even during normal operations at Boundary Dam, a sign warnds of the powerful currents and eddies where the Pend Oreille River flows over the inundated Metaline Falls.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
The Pend Oreille River powers over Metaline Falls on Sept. 11, 2010, during the maintenance drawdown of more than 30 feet on the reservoir behind Boundary Dam.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
The Pend Oreille River powers through Metaline Falls on Sept. 11, 2010, during the maintenance drawdown of more than 30 feet on the reservoir behind Boundary Dam.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
The Pend Oreille River turns to a whitewater froth for a hundred yards through Metaline Falls on Sept. 11, 2010, during the maintenance drawdown of more than 30 feet on the reservoir behind Boundary Dam.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
From inky smooth to raging whitewater in an instant, the Pend Oreille River powers over Metaline Falls on Sept. 11, 2010, during the maintenance drawdown of more than 30 feet on the reservoir behind Boundary Dam.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
The Pend Oreille River powers through Metaline Falls on Sept. 11, 2010, during the maintenance drawdown of more than 30 feet on the reservoir behind Boundary Dam. This photo was captured from the cliff on the east side of the river near Deadman's Eddy. The town of Metaline Falls and the State Highway 31 Bridge are in the background.