Ken Pearson,, age 11 of Seattle, Wash., for his question:

How long is the Columbia River?

The swift, beautiful Columbia river is called the powerhouse of the northwest. Much of its strong current is harnessed in dams to make electricity. It is estimated that the mighty river could yield 40 million horsepower, just by rolling on its way to the sea,

The Columbia rises in Selkirk Lake in British Columbia. For 460 miles it is a Canadian river. It crosses the border and flows another 578 miles through the northwestern corner of the United States. From its source to the Pacific Ocean, the Columbia river is 1038 miles long,

It is not the longest river in America. But it certainly is the most powerful. The power potential of all the rivers and waterways in the United States has been totaled up. One third of all that power is in the strong, swift, beautiful Columbia River.