Willamette Falls

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Willamette Falls

[Category]:

Science

[Paper Title]:

Willamette Falls

[Text]:

Willamette Falls have been a focal point of the Willamette valley heritage.
Throughout time these falls have played a key roll in the development of the
area. Long passed are the days of the Molalla Indian fishermen. It is now the
center of a very industrialised thriving city. In this paper I will take a look
into how this transition took place and what made this area such a special place
to all those that have come into contact with it.

The Willamette Falls are a three hundred yard wide thirty-foot high wall of
shier stone. The Falls stretch the width of the Willamette River. These falls
were virtually impassable by boat until the construction of the Willamette Locks
in 1868. The Molalla Indians who were the first to call the falls home believe
that the Falls were placed at this spot in the Willamette by god to trap the
fish travelling upstream so that the Indians and their ancestor the bear could
easily catch them. To this day the Falls still serve as a blockage for migrating
salmon, shad and other various fish runs, Although today there is a fish ladder
that allows the fish a way of passage through the falls.

The surrounding area of Willamette Falls was once a rich and thriving
ecosystem. The banks of Willamette falls were part of a dense forest that was
riddled with Molalla villages. The area was also full of wild life and became a
center of the fur trade as early settlers arrived. Bear, elk, deer, beaver and
other animal skins were traded through these early settlements. Settlers soon
found the draw of the fishing industry, as it’s primary wealth. The draw of
the plentiful fish is something that the Native Molalla Indians had discovered
much earlier

The birth of the Molalla Nation according to an old Molalla legend sprung
from the grizzly's demise, this came about when he met Coyote who was on his way
to “make the world”. The Great Bear demanded a fight but Coyote cunningly
challenged him to a red-hot rock-swallowing contest instead. But Coyote cleverly
swallowed strawberries while Grizzly gulped down hot stones that burst his
heart. After much thought Coyote skinned and cut up Grizzly and while scattering
his body to the winds. From a place near the summit of Mount Hood, Coyote
scattered the heart of Grizzly Bear whom he had just slain. To what would become
Molalla Country he threw the heart and said, "Now the Molalla will be good
hunters; they will be good m

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