History of the Lower Columbia River |
The Lower Columbia has a rich history, extending
from the Chinookan peoples that have been here for thousands
of years through Lewis and Clark and the traders, trappers,
fishermen, loggers and settlers that followed. |
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We explore historic Steamboat Slough, where pilings mark the site of old mills and other enterprises that thrived from the 1870’s until the depression of the 1930’s. Each piling now has a small ecosytem of trees, shrubs, and wildflowers growing on top. |
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We paddle along the cliffs of the Lower Gorge, passing the classic working waterfront of Cathlamet and proceeding along the dramatic 90-foot cliffs formed by the Miocene Columbia River basalt flows. Here, too, wherever a small waterfall cascades down to the river you can see the remains of small outposts of fish buyers and others who settled along the steep cliffs in the days when the river was the only highway. After lunch, we cross over to Puget Island to return via narrow Birnie Slough. |
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We go on a field trip to Cape Disappointment State Park, where the mighty Columbia meets the ocean. We then hike through a remnant of ancient coastal forest bearing spruce up to nine feet in diameter, then visit the newly remodeled Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center atop the cape with panoramic views of the Pacific. Time afterwards can be spent on the beach or at the Ilwaco Heritage Museum. |
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We paddle across the main channel of the Columbia to Welch Island, where settlers in the 1890s used horses to drag massive seine nets through the shallows to capture Chinook salmon. From here you have sweeping views out toward the mouth of the river, which is three miles wide at this point. These islands are now part of the 35,000 acre Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge. We continue to Tenasillahe Island, which served as a home for Wahkiakum Indians, then for fishermen and dairy farmers before becoming a national wildlife refuge. We can take a walk along the island dike trail in a search for wildlife before crossing back to Skamokawa. |
Skamokawa Creek
around 1900.
Skamokawa from
the water in 1920.
Skamokawa from the water today.