Z Canyon

On the Pend Oreille River, just west of this point, is Z Canyon.

Before hydroelectric dams influenced the Pend Oreille River’s flow, the character of the river varied greatly along its length. The wide and seemingly tranquil river that existed above Box Canyon became a raging torrent below Metaline Falls, where it narrowed and dropped deep into Z Canyon’s sheer rock walls.

According to a 1906 edition for the Spokane Weekly Chronicle:

“The canyon walls become very steep and lofty, and the river narrows to a mere thread, in one particular place it being said that a boy could flip a marble across it. As the engineers describe it, the river ‘turns up on its side and runs deep and narrow.’. . . the river zigzags through a chasm that is in some places scarcely 50 feet in width, between solid walls, towering almost perpendicularly 150 to 250 feet in height. In two or three places the course forms complete ‘Zs.’”

This narrow point in the river became known as Z Canyon. It also served as the site of the river’s first bridge. The original span consisted of nothing more than a large tree felled by local residents across the 17’ 8”-wide gap. Later, a foot bridge added an element of safety to the crossing.

River hydraulics through the powerful canyon proved deadly in a number of instances. Yet, the torrent also offered potential industrial benefits. Hugh L. Cooper, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, first identified the canyon’s hydroelectric potential in 1892. By 1931, the government had invested some $200,000 in preliminary investigative work there—including excavating a tunnel directly underneath the canyon—on what was considered “one of the greatest natural hydroelectric sites known to man.” Ultimately, the construction of Boundary Dam just downstream trumped the need for a Z Canyon dam, as the impounded water behind the Boundary Dam swallowed Z Canyon. In contrast from its whitewater past, Z Canyon is now recognized as a premiere flat water paddling destination.