Has the Columbia River Ever Frozen Over? Yes! [PHOTOS]

In October of 1929, America sank into the Great Depression after the stock market crashed. This caused massive unemployment - displacing millions of people from their homes. Hooverville’s (a term used for homeless encampments during President Hoover’s term) popped up in cities like Seattle (pictured below).

As if the stock market crash wasn’t enough, Mother Nature piled on with one of the coldest winters on record in the Pacific Northwest. It was so cold for so long, that the mighty Columbia River froze over in some areas, including Hood River, Oregon (pictured below from the Hood River History Museum).

Here we are 95 years later with another cold snap and although the river isn’t anywhere near frozen over, the edges of the Columbia River around the Tri-Cities are icing up. It’s a good thing the annual Special Olympics Polar Plunge was postponed. Keep scrolling down to see other historical photos of the Columbia River frozen over.

Columbia River, Wade Park, Pasco, January 16, 2024

The Burbank Bridge near Tri-Cities with ice floating by, 1950

The Columbia River, Marcus, WA (near Lake Roosevelt), 1940

Near the site of the future Columbia River Bridge, Wenatchee, 1907