The Volcanoes of Lewis and ClarkNovember 7, 1805
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November 6 Heading to the Pacific, Prescott Beach to Wallace Island |
November 7
Nearing the Pacific, Wallace Island to Pillar Rock Wallace Island, Eagle Cliff and Cape Horn, Puget Island, Cathlamet Channel, Hunting Islands and the Elochoman River, Cathlamet (Washington), Columbia River Estuary, Julia Hansen Butler NWR, Tenasillahe Island, Clifton (Oregon), Saddle Mountain and Saddle Mountain State Natural Area, Price Island and Steamboat Slough, Skamokawa River, Lewis and Clark NWR, Cathlamet Bay, "the Ocian", Jim Crow Point, Pillar Rock |
CONTINUE
November 8-9 Nearing the Pacific, Pillar Rock to Grays Point |
| 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 |
| To the Pacific - November 1805 |
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Nearing the Pacific Wallace Island to Pillar Rock |
| Lewis and Clark's camp of November 6, 1805, was on the Washington side of the Columbia River, between Eagle Cliff and Cape Horn, across from Wallace Island. |
| The morning was rainy and the fog so thick that we could not see across the river. We observed however, opposite to our camp, the upper point of an island [Wallace Island], between which and the steep hills on the right [between Eagle Cliff and Cape Horn] we proceeded for five miles. |
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Wallace Island:
Wallace Island: Lewis and Clark called Puget Island "Sea otter Isd." on one map and apparently "Sturgeon Isl." on another map. Wallace Island (upstream of Puget Island), however, was named "Sturgeon Island" by the expedition. There appears to have been an error in transferring information from the draft map to the route map. The position of modern islands is not consistent with Clark's drawings; therefore, the exact identification of the islands is subjective. Wallace Island was named after an early settler, Wallace Slang. -- Oregon State Archives Website, 2002, McArthur, 1982, Oregon Geographic Names, Moulton, 1990, v.6, and Washington State Historical Society Website, 2002 Eagle Cliff: In 1866, the first cannery on the Columbia River was built at Eagle Cliff, Washington Territory by the Hume Brothers. -- Clatsop County Historical Society Website, 2003 Cape Horn: Not to be confused with the large basalt cliffs near Washougal, Washingon. |
| Three miles lower is the beginning of an island [Puget Island] separated from the right shore by a narrow channel [Cathlamet Channel]; |
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Puget Island:
Puget Island: Although the island is close to the Oregon shore, Puget Island 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. Lewis and Clark called this island "Sea otter Isd." on one map and apparently "Sturgeon Isl." on another map. Wallace Island (upstream of Puget Island), however, was named "Sturgeon Island" by the expedition. There appears to have been an error in transferring information from the draft map to the route map. The position of modern islands is not consistent with Clark's drawings; therefore, the exact identification of the islands is subjective. Wallace Island was named after an early settler, Wallace Slang. -- Oregon State Archives Website, 2002, McArthur, 1982, Oregon Geographic Names, Moulton, 1990, v.6, and Washington State Historical Society Website, 2002 |
| down this we proceeded under the direction of some Indians whom we had just met going up the river, and who returned in order to show us their village. It consists of four houses only, situated on this channel [Cathlamet Channel] |
| "... A cloudy foggey morning Some rain. we Set out early proceeded under the Stard Shore under a high rugid hills with Steep assent the Shore boalt and rockey, the fog So thick we could not See across the river, two Canos of Indians met and returned with us to their village which is Situated on the Stard Side behind a cluster of Marshey Islands, on a narrow chanl. of the river through which we passed to the 'Village' of 4 Houses ..." [Clark, November 7, 1805] |
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Cathlamet Channel and Cathlamet, Washington:
Cathlamet Channel: The Cathlamet Channel divides Puget Island from the Washington banks of the Columbia River, from approximately Nassa Point (upstream) to where it merges with the main Columbia River channel at River Mile 32.3. Today's city of Cathlamet is located near the downstream end of the Cathlamet Channel where the Elochoman Slough meets the Channel. The Cathlamet Channel is used by fishing boats, tugs, log rafts, and barges. There is some log storage above the city of Cathlamet. -- NOAA Office of Coast Survey Website, 2003 |
| behind several marshy islands [Hunting Islands] formed by two small creeks [Elochman River and Nelson Creek merging into the Elochoman Slough]. |
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Hunting Islands:
Hunting Islands and the Elochoman Slough: The Elochoman Slough begins at Columbia River Mile 31.3, and is on the east side of the Hunting Islands. The Slough is used by fishing boats, tugs, and for log storage. -- NOAA Office of Coast Survey Website, 2003 Elochoman River: The headwaters of the Elochoman River lie in the Willapa Hills in southwest Lewis County and northeast Cowlitz County. The river flows southwesterly into Wahkiakum County to join the Columbia River at River Mile 38, just downstream from the town of Cathlamet, Washington, encompassing a drainage area of 73.3 square miles. The Elochoman River is characterized by the rugged area of the Willapa Hills, which occupy a major portion of the basin along with the valley plains along the Columbia River. The geology in the basin is a mix of sedimentary and volcanics. -- Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority Website, 2003 |
| On our arrival they gave us some fish, and we afterwards purchased wappatoo roots, fish, three dogs, and two otter skins, for which we gave fishhooks chiefly, that being an article of which they are very fond. After remaining with them about an hour, we proceeded down the channel [Cathlamet Channel] with an Indian dressed in a sailor's jacket for our pilot, |
| "... after delaying at this village one hour and a half we Set out piloted by an Indian dressed in a Salors dress, to the main Chanel of the river, the tide being in we Should have found much dificuelty in passing into the main Chanel from behind those islands, without a pilot, ..." [Clark, November 7, 1805] |
| Lewis and Clark are entering the upstream edge of the "Columbia River Estuary", which today is part of the Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge. |
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Columbia River Estuary and the Julia Butler National Wildlife Refuge:
Columbia River Estuary: The broad estuary of the Columbia River, where the fresh water of the land mingles with the salt water of the ocean, has played a vital role in natural and human history for thousands of years. As it nears the ocean, the slowing current deposits the river's silt load to form low, marshy islands and sandbars. Twice a day, the islands are part of the land, and twice they are reclaimed by the water whe rising ocean tides slow the river's current. These estuary islands form a chain that begins just above Tongue Point and follows the Oregon shore of the main channel upriver to Tenasillahe Island. -- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Website, 2003, Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge: Located in southwestern Washington, the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge as established in 1972 specifically to protect and manage the endangered Columbian white-tailed deer. The refuge contains over 5,600 acres of pastures, forested tidal swamps, brushy woodlots, marshes, and sloughs along the Columbia river in both Washington and Oregon. The mainland refuge unit, the Hunting Islands, and Price Island are in Washington. Tenasillahe Island, Wallace Island, and several parcels around Westport are in Oregon. -- Recreation.gov Website, 2003 |
| and on reaching the main channel [of the Columbia River] were visited by some Indians who have a temporary residence on a marshy island in the middle of the river [Tenasillahe Island] where is a great abundance of water fowl. |
| "... a large marshey Island near the middle of the river near which Several Canoes Came allong Side with Skins, roots fish &c.; to Sell, and had a temporey residence on this Island, here we See great numbers of water fowls about those marshey Islands; ..." [Clark, November 7, 1805] |
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Tenasillahe Island:
Tenasillahe Island: Maps prepared by Lewis and Clark show this and other islands nearby in the Columbia River marked 'marshy islands', but the expression was apparently not used as a geographic name. W.R. Broughton passed Tenasillahe Island on October 25, 1792, and describes it as a "long sandy, shallow spit." Wilkes used the name 'Kathlamet' for this island, a form of Cathlamet. Thwaites (v.3, pg.209) considered this island the present Tenasillahe Island. -- McArthur, 1982, Oregon Geographic Names, and Moulton, 1990, v.6 |
| Here the mountainous country again approaches the river on the left [vicinity of Clifton, Oregon], |
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Clifton, Oregon:
Clifton was a settlement on the south bank of the Columbia River long before the railway was built. The name is descriptive of the cliffs above the river. -- MacArthur, 1982, Oregon Geographic Names |
| and a higher mountain is distinguished towards the southwest. [Saddle Mountain] |
| "... here the high mountanious Countrey approaches the river on the Lard Side, a high mountn. to the S.W. about 20 miles, the high mountans. Countrey Continue on the Stard. Side, about 14 miles below the last village and 18 miles of this day we landed at a village of the same nation. This village is at the foot of the high hills on the Stard Side back of 2 Small Islands ..." [Clark, November 7, 1805] |
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Saddle Mountain:
Saddle Mountain: Saddle Mountain, at 3,283 feet elevation, is one of the highest peaks in the Coast Range, and affords a magnificent view of the surrounding mountains and the coast to the west. It is located 10 miles east of Seaside, and is reached from the Sunset Highway (U.S. 26) a mile east of Necanicum Junction. A narrow paved road runs eight miles to the north from the highway to a large parking lot at the base of the mountain. A gentle, four-mile trail climbs nearly 1,500 feet from the parking lot to the forest fire lookout on the summit. The Saddle Mountain breccia (a rock consisting of broken angular fragments cemented together in a fine-grained matrix) is volcanic. It was produced about 15 million years ago by thermal shock, when a great lava flow of Columbia River basalt came down an ancestral valley of the Columbia River (south of its present course) and entered the Astoria Sea. The still-hot rock, meeting cold water, caused steam explosions which broke it up into a great pile of basalt fragments. -- Allen, 1987 Saddle Mountain State Natural Area: Two and a half miles. That's all it is from the parking lot (elevation 1,650 feet) to the summit of Saddle Mountain (elevation 3,283 feet). Be prepared to marvel at the sheer volume of natural beauty packed onto the mountain, from a mature forest setting to fields of wildflowers to an open rocky summit. The view from the top of the mountain is one that cannot be described ... it must be experienced. The trip to the top isn't an everyday stroll through the woods, though. Come prepared with water and layer your clothing. The temperature is very different at the summit than in the parking lot. Wear appropriate shoes for rough terrain and be prepared for some steep grades, which make for interesting climbing. A nice walking stick and friend's hand would be helpful in many areas. As you climb, though, remember to look up and out at the landscape before you. Also look down at the wild floral show that may only exist at that elevation. Take frequent breaks and enjoy this unique landscape as well as the beauty of the forest below you. -- Oregon State Parks and Recreation Website, 2002 |
| At a distance of twenty miles from our camp we halted at a village of Wahkiacums, consisting of seven ill-looking houses, built in the same form with those above, and situated at the foot of the high hills on the right, behind two small marshy islands, [Location of today's town of Skamokawa, located at the mouth of the Skamokawa River, behind Price Island ... In the middle of the Columbia are the marshy islands Fitzpatrick and Welsh] |
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Skamokawa River:
Price Island:
Price Island and Steamboat Slough: Steamboat Slough, northeast side of Price Island, begins at Columbia River Mile 29.3, and is used by fishing boats, tugs, and for log storage. The town of Skamokawa is located just above the northwestern end of Steamboat Slough, across from the downstream tip of Price Island. -- NOAA Office of Coast Survey Website, 2003 |
| We merely stopped to purchase some food and two beaver skins, and then proceeded. ----- [Lewis and Clark are entering what today has become the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge.] |
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Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge:
Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge: The Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1972 to preserve the estuary land and water as vital fish and wildlife habitat. The refuge includes 35,000 acres of islands, bars, mud flats and tidal marshes. The refuge is the largest marsh in western Oregon and provides habitat for peak populations of 3,000 tundra swans, 2,000 Canada geese and 5,000 ducks in February and March each year as they gather here before the northward migration. Woody, Horseshoe, Karlson, and Marsh islands are the main islands in the wildlife refuge on Oregon's side of the Columbia. In 1805, on their trip to the Pacific Ocean, Lewis and Clark referred to these islands simply as "marshy islands". On their return in 1806, they called this area "Seal Islands". -- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Website, 2003, Lewis and Clark Bicentennial in Oregon Website, 2002, and Washington State Historical Society Website, 2002 |
| Opposite to these islands the hills on the left retire, and the river widens into a kind of bay crowded with low islands [Cathlamet Bay, Oregon side of the Columbia, a part of the Columbia River Estuary], subject to be overflowed occasionally by the tide. |
| "... opposit to this Village the high mountaneous Countrey leave the river on the Lard Side below which the river widens into a kind of Bay & is Crouded with low Islands Subject to be Covered by the tides ..." [Clark, November 7, 1805] |
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Cathlamet Bay and the Columbia River Estuary:
Cathlamet Bay: Cathlamet Bay is east of Tongue Point and south of the main ship channel of the Columbia River. There are many islands which are covered with tule in the summer, but in the winter they are almost indiscernible. The John Day Channel extends between Tongue Point and John Day Point. At the junction with the John Day River, just north of the point, the name changes to South Channel, which follows the shore closely to and around Settler point to Svensen. Many houseboats are moored along John Day River. The east part of Cathlamet Bay is used mostly for logging operations and log storage. -- NOAA Office of Coast Survey Website, 2003 Columbia River Estuary: The broad estuary of the Columbia River, where the fresh water of the land mingles with the salt water of the ocean, has played a vital role in natural and human history for thousands of years. As it nears the ocean, the slowing current deposits the river's silt load to form low, marshy islands and sandbars. Twice a day, the islands are part of the land, and twice they are reclaimed by the water whe rising ocean tides slow the river's current. These estuary islands form a chain that begins just above Tongue Point and follows the Oregon shore of the main channel upriver to Tenasillahe Island. -- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Website, 2003, |
| We had not gone far from this village when the fog cleared off, and we enjoyed the delightful prospect of the ocean; that ocean, the object of all our labours, the reward of all our anxieties. This cheering view exhilirated the spirits of all the party, who were still more delighted on hearing the distant roar of the breakers. |
| " ... Great joy in camp we are in View of the Ocian, this great Pacific Octean which we been So long anxious to See. and the roreing or noise made by the waves brakeing on the rockey Shores (as I Suppose) may be heard distictly ..." [Clark, November 7, 1805] |
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The Ocean:
In the notebook which he kept on his knee to record courses and bearings, Clark had written "Ocian in view! O! the joy." He was mistaken. The camp was near Pillar Rock and the ocean cannot be seen from there. -- Bernard DeVoto, 1953 |
| We went on with great cheerfulness under the high mountainous country which continued along the right bank; the shore was however so bold and rocky, that we could not, until after going fourteen miles from the last village, find any spot fit for an encampment ----- [the Corps passed Jim Crow Point and setup camp approximately 1 mile downstream, across from Pillar Rock]. |
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Jim Crow Point:
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| At that distance, having made during the day thirty-four miles, we spread our mats on the ground, and passed the night in the rain. Here we were joined by our small canoe, which had been separated from us during the fog this morning. |
| "... we proceeded on about 12 miles below the Village under a high mountaneous Countrey on the Stard. Side. Shore boald and rockey and Encamped under a high hill on the Stard. Side opposit to a rock Situated half a mile from the Shore, about 50 feet high and 20 feet Diamieter ..." [Clark, November 7, 1805] |
| " ... we made 34 miles to day as Computed ..." [Clark, November 7, 1805] |
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The Camp - November 7, 1805:
Camped opposite Pillar Rock, between Brookfield and Dahlia, Washington, west of Jim Crow Point.
Pillar Rock:
Pillar Rock: "Great joy in camp we are in view of the Ocian this great Pacific Ocean which we been so long anxious to See. and the roreing or noise made by the waves braking on the rockey shores (as I Suppose) may be heard distinctly." This entry by Clark in his journal, at the end of a day's travel paddling down the Columbia River, proved to be near the location of Pillar Rock, a 70-foot high basaltic column sitting in water approximately 50 feet deep near the northern shore of the Columbia River just south of the campsite. "Immediately opposite our camp is a rock at the distance of a mile in the river, about twenty feet in diameter and fifty in height." Simply marked "Rock" on Clark's route map, the basalt rock rose 75 to 100 feet above water level, depending on the tide. Clark recorded in the course and distance log, "Ocian in view! O! the joy," mistaking the wide Columbia River mouth estuary for the ocean. The party was still actually 20 miles from the Pacific Coast The landmark was given its present place name by Wilkes in 1841. Currently there is a navigation beacon located on top of Pillar Rock. -- U.S. National Park Service, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Website, 2002, Pacific County Friends of Lewis and Clark Website, 2002, and Washington State Historical Society Website, 2002 |
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