In total Priest Rapids consisted of seven separate cataracts along a 9 mile (14 km) stretch, over which the river dropped 72 feet (22 m) altogether.

It was given the name Priest Rapids by Alexander Ross of the Pacific Fur Company in 1811.

At Priest Rapids the Columbia River narrowed and flowed quickly, making it an ideal salmon fishing site.

There were several rapids and fishing sites, and a dozen or so Wanapum villages along the west bank of the Columbia River at Priest Rapids.

Priest Rapids Dam, built in the 1950s, submerged Priest Rapids, taking advantage of the river's drop for hydroelectric power production.

Thus today there are no rapids at Priest Rapids.

Euro-Americans began to settle the region in the 1860s, initially along the Columbia River south of Priest Rapids.

Priest Rapids on the Columbia River, Washington state which is the location of:

Priest Rapids, for which the dam was named, are now submerged beneath the dam's reservoir.

After I left Buck, I looked up at the mountains above Priest Rapids.