The 2010 Lower Columbia Terrain Model is a combined bathymetric/topographic seamless digital elevation model created by the Portland District of the US Army Corps of Engineers. The project was completed primarily to support hydraulic modeling related to the Columbia River Treaty, however its applications extend far beyond this. The model includes recent elevation data available for the lower Columbia River and its floodplain, including the following sources:
- NOAA multibeam bathymetric surveys, 2008-2009
- US Army Corps of Engineers crossline and channel bathymetric surveys, 2000 - 2009
- Estuary Partnership shallow water bathymetric surveys, 2009 - 2010
- US Army Corps of Engineers topographic LiDAR surveys, 2009 - 2010
Historical bathymetric data is included for areas where current data is not available, however these areas are have been greatly reduced compared to previous data models.
The Estuary Partnership's bathymetric data component was collected as part of the Columbia River Estuary Ecosystem Classification System, with Bonneville Power Administration funding. This effort targeted shallow-water mainstem areas and selected tributaries and floodplain channels, where data gaps existed. In total, approximately 20,000 acres were surveyed between 2009 and 2010.
The model was created using the ESRI ArcGIS Terrain format. This geodatabase contains the full set of 3D LiDAR points, a mosaic of best available bathymetric data points, and 1- meter resolution raster Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and hillshades. Ground surface LiDAR points were processed to remove false water returns, using a water boundary as determined by softcopy photogrammetry with stereograms generated from the first return LiDAR points.
Obtaining the 2010 Lower Columbia Digital Terrain Data
The data set is available as 6 separate river reaches. To obtain the full ESRI Terrain geodatabase, please contact our GIS staff.
DEM's and hillshades for the 6 river reaches can be downloaded using the following links, or from the map below by clicking on individual reaches of interest. ESRI and TIF raster formats are included. Metadata reports, and a shapefile of water-masked areas are also provided with all downloads.
Reach A (covers River Miles 0–27)
Reach B (covers River Miles 27–63)
Reach C1 (covers River Miles 63–80)
Reach C2 (covers River Miles 80–96)
Reach D (covers River Miles 96–114)
Reach E (covers River Miles 114–146)