These photos come from the archives of our news partner, The Columbian.The river, under what is now the I-5 bridge, was frozen so solid that year that you could drive on it and even land a plane.

The Columbia River froze at Vancouver on Jan. 26, 1847, according to the Farmers’ Almanac. That winter was among the coldest and corralled the HBMS Modeste in ice. Taking advantage of the time ...

A car drives over the Columbia River after it froze in 1930. The river froze over a handful of times in the early 20th century, though milder winter temperatures and the construction of dams have ...

The Union Pacific train cars carrying frozen vegetables tipped over onto the bank of the river at 3:20 a.m. about 15 miles south of Pasco. The diesel was used to power refrigeration.