The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle (meaning either "sluice" or "flagstone" and referring to the columnar basalt rocks carved by the river), what the French-Canadian employees of the North West Company called the now-inundated rapids of the Columbia River between the present-day city and Celilo Falls.
The population of The City of The Dalles was 13,470 in July 2007 and serves a catchment area of over 100,000 for services and retail.
Located just east of the Cascade Mountain Range, The Dalles experiences four distinct seasons, yet finds sunny skies throughout most of the year. Precipitation annually averages 11.5 inches.
The city – right along I-84 – is well-connected to Portland (87 Miles) and neighboring Hood River (17 miles) to the east; Hermiston (100 miles), Pendleton (125 miles) and Kennewick (130 miles) to the west; Yakima (100 miles) to the north; and Bend (100 miles) to the south. Along with countless small charming towns on the way to/from any of these destinations and wildly varied, breath-taking scenery.