The Volcanoes of Lewis and ClarkMarch 25 - 28, 1806
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March 23-24 Heading Home, Fort Clatsop to Tenasillahe Island |
March 25-28
Heading Home, Puget Island to Deer Island Puget Island, Clatskanie River, Crim's Island, Longview (Washington) and the Lewis and Clark Bridge, Rainier (Oregon), Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens, Mount Coffin, Cowlitz River, Sandy Island, Goble (Oregon) and Kalama (Washington), Deer Island |
CONTINUE
March 29 Heading Home, Deer Island to Ridgefield NWR |
| On October 7, 1805, Lewis and Clark and the "Corps of Discovery" began their journey down the Clearwater River and into the volcanics of the Pacific Northwest. The Corps travelled from the Clearwater to the Snake and down the "Great Columbia", finally reaching the Pacific Ocean on November 15, 1805. Along the journey they encountered the lava flows of the Columbia Plateau, river channels carved by the great "Missoula Floods", and the awesome beauty of five Cascade Range volcanoes. |
| The Volcanoes of Lewis and Clark |
| Heading for Home - March 25-28, 1806 |
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Heading Home Puget Island to Deer Island |
| Lewis and Clark's camp of March 24, 1806, was on the Oregon side of the Columbia River, northeast of Brownsmead, at Aldrich Point, across from Tenasillahe Island. |
| This morning proved so disagreeably cold that we did not set out before seven o'clock, when having breakfasted, we continued along the southern side of the river. The wind, however, as well as a strong current was against us, so that we proceeded slowly. On landing for dinner at noon, we were joined by some Clatsops ...... After dinner we crossed the river to a large island [Puget Island], along the side of which we continued ...... |
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Puget Island:
Puget Island: Although the island is close to the Oregon shore, it lies within the State of Washington. Puget Island was discovered in 1792 by Lieutenant Broughton of the British Navy, who named it for Lieutenant Peter Puget. Lieutenant Puget was a member of the Vancouver expedition and it was for him that Puget Sound (in northwest Washington) was named. -- Oregon State Archives Website, 2002, and McArthur, 1982, Oregon Geographic Names |
| We proceeded on to the head of the island [Puget Island], and then crossed to the north side of the river [see notes below]. Here the coast formed a continued swamp for several miles back, so that it was late in the evening before we were able to reach a spot fit for our camp. |
| [The Biddle/Allen publication is mis-leading -- according to the Journals as printed in Moulton, 1991, Vol.7, only three of the expedition traveled on the north side of the Columbia. The camp and the Clastskanie River are on the south (Oregon) side.] |
| "... Last night and this morning are cool wend hard a head and tide going out, after an early brackfast we proceeded on about 4 miles and came too on the South Side to worm and dry our Selves a little. ... as the wind was hard a head and tide against us we Concluded to delay untill the return of the tide which we expected at 1 oClock, at which hour we Set out ... we crossed over to an Island on which was a Cath lahmah fishing Camp of one Lodge; ... we remained at this place about half an hour and then Continued our rout. the winds in the evening was verry hard, it was with Some dificuelty that we Could find a Spot proper for an encampment, the Shore being a Swamp for Several miles back; at length late in the evening opposit to the place we had encamped on the 6th of Novr. last; we found the enterance of a Small Creek which offered us a Safe harbour from the Winds and Encamped. the Ground was low and moist tho' we obtained a tolerable encampment. ... here we found Drewyer and the 2 Fields' who had been Seperated from us Since Morning; they had passed on the North Side of the large Island which was much nearest. ... made 15 Miles ..." [Clark, March 25, 1806] |
| At length we discovered the entrance of a small creek [Clatskanie River], opposite to the place where we were encamped on the sixth of November [On the Washington side between Eagle Cliff and Cape Horn, across from Wallace Island], |
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Clatskanie River:
Clatskanie River: The Clatskanie River is a tributary of the Beaver Slough, which enters Wallace Slough near the southeast end of Wallace Island. Wallace Slough is at Columbia River Mile 41, south of Wallace Island. Beaver and Wallace Sloughs are used by fishing boats and house floats. The town of Clatskanie was named after the Tlatskanai tribe of American Indian, who lived in the hills south of the Clatskanie River in the upper Nehalem Valley. The Tlatskanai, linguistically an Athapascan tribe, originally lived in the flat lands bordering the Chehalis River in Washington State. As game became scarce and their food supply diminished, they left the area, heading south, and crossed the Columbia River to occupy the hills traditionally occupied by the Chinook Indians, who were a large Indian tribe living along the Oregon Coast. After driving away the more peaceful Chinook Indians, the Tlatskanai established themselves within the Clatskanie-Westport area, and extended their numbers into the head of the Nehalem. The word "Tlatskanai" was used by these Indians to denote the route they took to get to a particular meeting place, applying to particular steams and not to others. White men carelessly applied this work to the name of the stream. One source lists "Tlatskanai" as meaning "swift running water." The Clatskanie is indeed a swift beautiful stream. Other names that existed for the Tlatskanai were the Clackstar, Klatskanai and Klaatshan, among others. -- NOAA Office of Coast Survey Website, 2003, and Clatskanie Chamber of Commerce Website, 2003 |
| and though the ground was low and moist, yet as the spot was sheltered from the wind, we resolved to pass the night there [near the town of Clatskanie, Oregon]: we had now made fifteen miles. ...... The wind was very high towards evening. ...... |
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The Camp - March 25, 1806:
Near the town of Clatskanie, Oregon. |
| The wind ...... continued to blow so violent in the morning, that we could not set out before eight o'clock. ...... The wind having abated, we proceeded to an old village, where we halted for dinner [near west end of Crims Island, opposite Oak Point], having met on the way Sahawacap the principal chief of all the Cathlamahs, who was on his return from a trading voyage up the river, with wappatoo and fish, some of which he gave us, and we purchased a little more. ...... |
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The wind blew So hard untill 8 A M. that we detained, ...
we Continued our rout up the river to an old Village on the South Side where we halted for dinner ...
halted for dinner at an Old Village on the South point opposit the lower pt. of Fannys Island.
..."
[Clark, March 26, 1806] |
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The wind blew so hard this morning that we delayed untill 8 A. M. ...
we continued our rout up the river to an old village on the Stard. side where we halted for dinner
..."
[Lewis, March 26, 1806] |
| After dinner we passed along the north shore opposite to a high fine bottom and dry prairie [today an area upstream of Clatskanie, Oregon, containing Beaver and McLean Sloughs], at the upper end of which, near a grove of white-oak trees, is an island which we called Fanny's island [Crims Island]. |
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after dinner we proceeded on and passed an Elegant and extensive
bottom on the South side and an island
near it's upper point which we call Fanny's Island and bottom.
the great part of the bottom is a high dry prarie.
..."
[Lewis, March 26, 1806] |
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Crims Island:
Crims Island: Broughton discovered Crims Island and nearby islets in the Columbia River on October 26, 1792, and named them Bakers Islands for second lieutenant of Vancouver's ship 'Discovery'. Lewis and Clark named this island Fannys Island, in honor of Frances, William Clark's youngest sister. Wilkes gives the name Gull Island. James F. Crim took up a homestead on the island and received his patent February 10, 1871. The U.S. Board of Geographic Names adopted the name Crims Island on October 5, 1927. With the lapse of time Wilkes' name Gull Island has become transferred to a small isle north of the west end of Crims Island. -- McArthur, 1982, Oregon Geographic Names |
| There were some deer and elk at a distance in the prairie, but as we could not stay to hunt, we continued till late in the evening, when we encamped on the next island [possibly Walker Island or Dibblee (formerly Lord) islands] above Fanny's [Crims Island]. According to the estimate we made in descending the river, which we begin, however, to think was short, our journey of to-day was eighteen miles. ...... |
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we continued our rout after dinner untill late
in the evening and encamped on the next island above fanny's Island.
..."
[Lewis, March 26, 1806] |
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after dinner I walked on Shore through an eligant bottom on the South Side opposit to Fannys Island. This bottom we also Call fannys bottom it is extensive and an open leavel plain except near the river bank which is high dry rich oak land. I saw Some deer & Elk at a distance in the Prarie. we continued untill late in the evening and encamped on a Small Island near the Middle of the river haveing made 18 Miles.
..."
[Clark, March 26, 1806] |
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The Camp - March 26, 1806:
On an island in the middle of the Columbia River, in the vicinity of today's Walker Island. |
| We set out early, and were soon joined by some Skilloots, with fish and roots for sale. At ten o'clock we stopped to breakfast at two houses of the same nation, where we found our hunters, who had not returned to camp last night, but had killed nothing. The inhabitants seemed very kind and hospitable. ...... [today's Longview, Washington and Rainier, Oregon] |
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Columbia River, Cowlitz County, Washington:
Longview, Washington: Located at the confluence of the Cowlitz and Columbia Rivers (River Mile 57), Longview is a relatively new city with a short but remarkable history. Less than seventy-five years ago, the area where Longview now stands was sparsely populated wilderness and rural homesteads. The first written account of the area can be found in the journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition which camped beside the "Cow-elis-kee" or Cowlitz River in 1805. In 1849, pioneers began to arrive in this area to settle along the river. Harry Huntington named the settlement "Monticello" in honor of Thomas Jefferson's home in Virginia. In 1852, people from all over what was to become Washington state gathered in Monticello to draft a memorial to Congress. The memorial expressed their desire to be granted statehood under the name of Columbia. This meeting came to be known as the Monticello Convention. The desires of the Convention were met favorably in Congress, but it was decided that a state named Columbia might be confused with the preexisting District of Columbia. The state was instead named Washington in honor of our first president. Today, a monument to the Monticello Convention stands not far from the Longview Civic Center. Longview city was the dream of Robert Alexander Long, a midwestern businessman whose holdings included the Long-Bell Lumber Company. This firm in 1918 claimed to be the largest lumber retailer and manufacturer in the United States. With southern timber stands vanishing quickly, Long redirected his effort to tapping the Pacific Northwest's abundant old-growth forest. Part of Long's vision was the planned city of Longview. -- NOAA Office of Coast Survey Website, 2003, City of Longview Website, 2003, and U.S. Library of Congress, American Memories Website, 2003 
Rainier, Oregon:
Rainier, Oregon: Rainier, named for Mount Rainier, which is often visible to the northeast, was an important stop in the days of river commerce. The town was founded by Charles E. Fox in 1851. First called Eminence, its name was later changed to Fox's Landing and finally to Rainier. In 1854 F. M. Warren erected a large steam sawmill and began producing lumber for the homes and other buildings of the settlers. Rainier was incorporated in 1885. -- Oregon State Archives Website, 2002 |
| Today, connecting Longview, Washington, and Rainier, Oregon, is the "Lewis and Clark Bridge". |
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Lewis and Clark Bridge:
Lewis and Clark Bridge: Completed in 1930, the Lewis and Clark Bridge (Longview-Rainier Bridge) spans the Columbia River between Longview, Washington and Rainier, Oregon. At the time of construction this bridge was the longest cantilever span in North America with its 1,200-feet central section. -- U.S. Library of Congress, American Memories Website, 2003 |
| If the day had been clear, Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens would have been visible from the Oregon side of the Columbia River. |
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Mount Rainier:
Mount St. Helens:
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| At the distance of two miles we passed the entrance of Coweliskee river [Cowlitz River]. This stream discharges itself on the north side of the Columbia, about three miles above a remarkably high rocky knoll [Mount Coffin], the south side of which it washes in passing, and which is separated from the northern hills by a wide bottom of several miles in extent. |
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Mount Coffin:
Marked as "Knob," a descriptive notation, on the route map, the large rock was observed by the corps as they hurried toward the Pacific Ocean. The "remarkable knob" was used by the natives for interment of their dead and was noted by other earlier travelers on the river. The 240-foot basalt landmark was leveled for its gravel during port construction at Longview, Washington. -- Washington State Historical Society Website, 2002 Coffin Rock (Columbia County, Oregon): Coffin Rock is in the Columbia River a little more than a mile north of Goble. It is so called because it was an Indian burial place. Broughton mentions it in his report on October 28, 1792. "Mr. Broughton continued to proceed against the stream, and soon passed a small rocky islet, about 20 feet above the surface of the water. Several canoes covered the top of the islet, in which dead bodies were deposited." Possibly the first use of the name "Coffin Rock" came from Coue's Henry-Thompson Journals, volume II, page 796, under date of January 11, 1814. This islet should not be confused with Mount Coffin, a point on the Washington shore west of Longview. -- MacArthur, 1982, Oregon Geographic Names |
| The Coweliskee [Cowlitz River] is one hundred and fifty yards wide, deep and navigable, as the Indians assert, for a considerable distance, and most probably waters the country west and north of the range of mountains [Cascade Mountains] which cross the Columbia between the great falls and rapids. On the lower side of this river, a few miles from its entrance into the Columbia, is the principal village of the Skilloots, a numerous people ...... |
| "... The Coweliskee is 150 yards wide, is deep and from indian Information navigable a very considerable distance for canoes. it discharges itself into the Columbia about three miles above a remarkable high rocky nole [Mount Coffin] which is situated on the N. side of the Nothern hills of the river by a wide bottom of several miles to which it is united. I suspect that this river waters the country lying West of the range of mountains which pass the columbia between the great falls and rapids, and north of the same nearly to the low country which commences on the N. W. coast about Latitude [blank] North. ..." [Lewis, March 27, 1806] |
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Cowlitz River:
Cowlitz River: The Cowlitz River flows into the Columbia River at Mile 59, just east of Longview, Washington. The mouth of the river is heavily silted as a result of the volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens (May 1980). Large amounts of mud, logs, and other debris entered the Columbia River from the Cowlitz River. "Cow-e-lis-kee River" was noted on Lewis and Clark's westbound exploration but actually named on the homeward journey. Descending the river, Clark marked the drainage on his route map "not known." Returning upstream, the captains tried to use a native term to identify the river, spelling the word phonetically. The Cowlitz River rises on the slopes of Mount Rainier, flows westerly, and then turns abruptly south to join the Columbia at the city of Longview, about 20 miles below the mouth of the Lewis River. The Cowlitz River drains approximately 2,480 square miles over a distance of 151 miles. Principle tributaries include the Coweman, Toutle, Tilton, Cispus, Ohanapecosh and the Clear Fork. The Toutle River is the largest, draining 512 square miles and enters the Cowlitz River at RM 20.0. The Cispus River (RM 89.8) is the most significant tributary in the upper Basin and drains 433 square miles. The mainstem above the confluence of the Cispus-Cowlitz River drains 609 square acres. The eastern part of the Cowlitz River valley is characterized by a deeply cut trough and flat bottomlands, terraces, and broad plains. To the north and south of the valley, the uplands have rugged mountainous topography, modified by glacial activity and drained by rivers that trend generally westward. Landscape characteristics include, long steep slopes and relatively straight, parallel drainage-ways. The western portion of the Cowlitz River valley lies within the northern end of the Puget-Willamette Lowlands, and has moderate relief with a broad floodplain where elevations seldom exceed 500 feet. -- NOAA Office of Coast Survey Website, 2003, Washington State Historical Society Website, 2002, Dinehart, et.al., 1981, and Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority Website, 2002 Geology of the Cowlitz River Basin: The Cowlitz River originates in the volcanic peaks of the Southern Cascade Mountains. The river flows west through a valley heavily influenced by alpine glaciers, then turns south and flows between the Cascades and the Willapa Hills to the Columbia River. The upper Cowlitz Basin (located in Washington's southern Cascades) are made up primarily of andesite and basalt flows and associated breccias and tuffs. Areas adjacent to volcanic peaks are generally mantled with pumice deposits. The runoff from portions of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams and Mount St. Helens drains into the Cowlitz River. These normally inactive volcanoes have helped shape the geography of the area. The eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980 sent a tidal wave of melted ice and pulverized rock down the Toutle Valley into the Cowlitz River, and carried so much of this coarse sandy material and debris all the way to the Columbia River that dredging was required to clear the channel before river shipping could be resumed. Large scale removal of this volcanic material in the Cowlitz River began at the lower end of the Toutle River by July, 1980 and continued on down the Cowlitz River until engineers were reasonably confident that the cleared channel could handle expected winter flows without topping dikes and flooding Castle Rock, Longview and Kelso. A dam to control sediment was then constructed further up the Toutle River by the Corp of Engineers to prevent the re-silting of the dredged sections. The lower half of the basin is generally comprised of Eocene basalt flows and flow breccia. During the Pleistocene (3 million years to 8,000 years ago) several alpine glaciers moved down the Cowlitz River valley depositing till and outwash (glacial river sand and gravel deposits). These glaciers, 1000 feet thick or more, cut down into the former river channel and underlying bedrock. At least six alpine glacial advances have been documented. Glacial outwash sands and gravels form terraces in the vicinity of the Cowlitz River and were deposited by streams from the melting alpine glaciers located up the valley. Silt-loam loess, representing windblown glacial silt, blankets large areas of the basin. The thickness of the loess varies from a few feet to 20 feet. Following deposition of the youngest glacial deposits, approximately 13,000 to 25,000 years ago, the Cowlitz River eroded and reworked the glacial deposits. The resulting alluvial deposits range from coarse boulders to cobbly gravel to fine sand and silty sand. Thick alluvium is generally confined to the area of the immediate Cowlitz River flood plain. -- U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 1947, Dinehart, et.al., 1981, and Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority Website, 2002 
River Drainages of Mount Rainier:
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| Late in the evening we halted at the beginning of the bottom land, below Deer island [near Goble, Oregon, across from today's Sandy Island and Kalama, Washington], after having made twenty miles. |
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Goble Volcanics:
The thick sequence of basaltic flows and pyroclastic rocks (late Eocene-early Oligocene) that crop out on both sides of the Columbia River in southwestern Washington and northwestern Oregon are mapped as Goble Volcanics in Oregon, and informal or lithologic names are applied to the rocks on the Washington side. The type area is the vicinity of Goble, Oregon, where a thickness of more than 5,000 feet was mapped by Wilkingson and others (1946). The volcanics form cliffs along the Columbia River (and today's Interstate-5) for several miles. Subaerial lava flows, agglomerates, and oxidized soil horizons are typical features of the cliff exposures. The basalt is generally fresh, fine grained, and has masses of iddingsite scattered throughout along with microphenocrysts of plagioclase and pyroxene. Rock types include pillow, columnar or hackly jointed, massive or vesicular basalt flows and dikes. -- Armentrout, etc., 1980, and Evarts, 2002 |
| Along the low grounds on the river were the cottonwood, sweet-willow, the oak, ash, the broad-leafed ash, and the growth resembling the beech; while the hills are occupied almost exclusively by different species of fir, and the black alder is common to the hills as well as the low ground. ...... |
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The Camp - March 27, 1806:
On the Oregon side of the Columbia River in the vicinity of Goble, across from today's Sandy Island and Kalama, Washington. |
| We left our camp at an early hour, and by nine o'clock reached an old Indian village on the left side of Deer island [Deer Island]. Here we found a party of our men whom we had sent on yesterday to hunt ...... This island, which has received from the Indians the appropriate name of Elalah, or Deer island, is surrounded on the water side by an abundant growth of cotton-wood, ash, and willow, while the interior consists chiefly of prairies interspersed with ponds. ...... |
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Deer Island:
Deer Island: Deer Island was named by Lewis and Clark. They first visited the island on November 5, 1805, on their way down the Columbia, and again on March 28, 1806, on their return. It was on the second visit that the party had good luck getting venison. Captain Lewis noted in his diary that the Indian name for the island was 'E-lal-lar', or Deer Island. -- McArthur, 1982, Oregon Geographic Names |
| We had advanced only five miles to-day. |
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The Camp - March 28, 1806:
On the eastern shore of Deer Island, towards the northern tip. There is a Highway marker on US 30. |
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