The Volcanoes of Lewis and ClarkOctober 16, 1805
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-- The Volcanoes of Lewis and Clark Map of the Journey -- Volcanoes, Basalt Plateaus, Major Rivers, etc. CALENDAR of the Journey -- October 1805 to June 1806 Along the Journey -- Pacific Northwest Maps - Columbia River, Volcanoes, Flood Basalts, Missoula Floods, Geology, etc. The Corps of Discovery -- The Journey of Lewis and Clark About the Reference Materials -- The Journals, Biddle/Allen, DeVoto, Gass, Moulton, Topo Maps, and others USGS Lewis and Clark Links -- Links to USGS Websites highlighting the Lewis and Clark Journey Resources Publications Referenced and Websites Visited |
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October 14-15 On the Snake, Ayer Junction to Fishhook Rapids |
October 16
Reaching the "Great Columbia", Snake/Columbia Confluence Fishhook Rapids and Fishhook Park, Five Mile Rapids, Ice Harbor Dam and Lake Sacajawea, Charbonneau Park, Horse Heaven Hills, Reaching the Columbia, Columbia River, Tri-Cities and Sacajawea State Park |
CONTINUE
October 17 Side-Trip Up the Columbia, Tri-Cities and the Yakima River |
| 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 - October 1805 |
| Reaching the "Great Columbia" |
| "... A cool morning, deturmined to run the rapids ... [Clark, October 16, 1805] |
| Having examined the rapids [Fishhook Rapids], which we found more difficult than the report of the Indians had induced us to believe, we set out early, and putting our Indian guide in front, our smallest canoe next, and the rest in succession, began the descent: the passage proved to be very disagreeable; as there is a continuation of shoals extending from bank to bank for the distance of three miles, during which the channel is narrow and crooked, and obstructed by large rocks in every direction, so as to require great dexterity to avoid being dashed on them. We got through the rapids with no injury to any of the boats except the hindmost, which ran on a rock; but by the assistance of the other boats, and of the Indians who were very alert, she escaped, though the baggage she contained was wet. |
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Fishhook Rapids:
Fishhook Park: U.S. Corps of Engineers Park on the south bank of Lake Sacajawea at Snake River Mile 18. The park is located 18 miles east of Burbank, Washington, on Highway 124, and 4 miles north on Fishhook Park Road. -- U.S. Corps of Engineers Website, 2003 |
| Within three miles after leaving the rapid we passed three small islands, on one of which were the parts of a house put on scaffolds as usual, and soon after came to a rapid at the lower extremity of three small islands; and a second at the distance of a mile and a half below them; reaching six miles below the great rapid a point of rocks at a rapid opposite to the upper point of a small island on the left. Three miles further is another rapid; and two miles beyond this a very bad rapid [Five-Mile Rapids], or rather a fall of the river: this, on examination, proved so difficult to pass, that we thought it imprudent to attempt, and therefore unloaded the canoes and made a portage of three quarters of a mile. |
| "... at 14 miles passed a bad rapid at which place we unloaded and made a portage of 3/4 of a mile haveing passd 4 Smaller rapids, three Islands and the parts of a house above ... [Clark, October 16, 1805] |
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Five-Mile Rapids:
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| The rapid, which is of about the same extent, is much broken by rocks and shoals, and has a small island in it on the right side. After crossing by land we halted for dinner ...... |
| Ice Harbor Dam is now located along this stretch of the Snake River. Lake Sacajawea is the reservoir behind the dam. |
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Ice Harbor Dam:
Ice Harbor Dam: Today, the Lower Snake River has four dams and navigation locks along it: The uppermost dam is Lower Granite, followed downstream by Little Goos, Lower Monumental, and Ice Harbor. The Ice Harbor Lock and Dam is 2,822 feet long, and 100 feet high. It is of the concrete gravity type, with an earth-fill embankment section at the north abutment. It has a ten-bay spillway that is 590 feet long, and ten 50-foot tainter gates. The lock is a single-lift type with clear plan. It has clear dimensions of 86 feet by 675 feet, and a 15-foot minimum depth. There are two fish ladders for passing migratory fish. -- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Website, 2002 Lake Sacajawea: At elevation 440 feet, Lake Sacajawea extends northeast 32 miles upstream to Lower Monumental Dam, and has a surface area of 9,200 acres. -- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Website, 2002 Prominent Lava Flows in the Vicinity: The Saddle Mountains Basalt formation is the youngest in the Columbia River Basalt Group. It is about 13.5 to 6 million years old and contains flows erupted sporadically during a period of waning volcanism, deformation, canyon cutting, and development of thick but local sedimentary deposits between flows. The Saddle Mountains Basalt has a volume of only about 700 cubic miles, less than one percent of the total volume of basalt, yet contains by far the greatest chemical and isotopic diversity of any formation in the group. The Ice Harbor Member of the Saddle Mountains Basalt formation is dated as about 8.5 million years old and was erupted from the central part of the Columbia Plateau, where dikes and remnants of vent areas have been recognized. Most flows are confined to the area of venting, but at least one flow spread westward to the Richland, Washington, area and southwestward to Wallula Gap. The Ice Harbor vent system is about 55 miles long. -- Swanson and Wright, 1981 Charbonneau Park: Located on the Snake River near Ice Harbor Dam off Washington Highway 124. Amentities include: camping (fee), electric hookups, full hookups (max. 15), sewage & water hookups, trailer dump station, showers, picnic area, swimming, boat launch, handicapped facilities, group picnic shelter, marina (moorage & fuel) and marine dump station. Lewis and Clark's Interpreter was Toussaint Charbonneau and his wife was 17-year old Sacagawea. Today, Sacajawea State Park & Interpretive Center marks "the forks" or confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers where the Lewis & Clark set up camp in 1805; and Charbonneau Park just outside Pasco (on the Snake River northeast of Ice Harbor Dam) also reflects the areas ties to the Expedition. -- Tri-Cities Visitors and Convention Bureau Website, 2002 |
| After dinner we reloaded the canoes and proceeded: we soon passed a rapid opposite to the upper point of a sandy island on the left, which has a smaller island near it. At three miles is a gravelly bar in the river: four miles beyond this the Kimooenim [Snake] empties itself into the Columbia, and at its mouth has an island just below a small rapid. We halted above the point of junction on the Kimooenim [Snake River] to confer with the Indians, who had collected in great numbers to receive us. |
| "... and having taken Diner Set out and proceeded on Seven miles to the junction of this river and the Columbia which joins from the N. W. passd. a rapid two Islands and a graveley bare, and imediately in the mouth a rapid above an Island. In every direction from the junction of those rivers the Countrey is one Continued plain low and rises from the water gradually, except a range of high Countrey [Horse Heaven Hills] which runs from S. W & N E and is on the opposit Side about 2 miles distant from the Collumbia and keeping its derection S W untill it joins a S W. range of mountains. We halted above the point on the river Kimooenim to smoke with the Indians who had collected there in great numbers to view us ..." [Clark, October 16, 1805] |
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Horse Heaven Hills:
Like all the ridges that surround the Tri-Cities and lower Columbia Basin, the geology of the Horse Heaven Hills is a story of lava eruptions followed by buckling of the lava flows as they were squeezed from the north and south. The Columbia Plateau province is dominated by lavas of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG), which include the Grande Ronde, Wanapum, and Saddle Mountains Basalts. The basalt occurs as multiple flows, each ranging in thickness from 10 to over 100 feet. After the lavas hardened into rock, earth forces, which still operate today, compressed the region from the north and south. The rock responded by buckling into a series of ridges that trend mainly east-west. Rattlesnake Mountain, Badger Mountain, Red Mountain and the Horse Heaven Hills are some of the more familiar names of these ridges. Rattlesnake Mountain and the Horse Heaven Hills are higher than most of the ridges around here but when you take a close look at any of these ridges, the higher elevations typically are on the north side. The north side is highest because its the point where the rocks change from a north facing slope to a south facing slope. -- Morace, et.al., 1998, Steve Reidel, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Swanson and Wright, 1981 |
| "... Having gone 21 miles we arrived at the great Columbia river, which comes in from the northwest. We found here a number of natives, of whose nations we have not yet found out the names. We encamped on the point between the two rivers. The country all round is level, rich and beautiful, but without timber ..." [Gass, October 16, 1805] |
| "... towards evening we arived at the big forks. the large River which is wider than the Columbia River comes in from a northerly direction. [in his journal, Ordway has been calling the Snake River the Columbia River] the Country around these forks is level Smooth plain. no timber. not a tree to be Seen as far as our Eyes could extend. a fiew willows Scattering along the Shores ..." [Ordway, October 16, 1805] |
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Junction of the Columbia River and Snake River:
The Columbia River before Lewis and Clark: On May 12, 1792, the American Captain Robert Gray, became the first explorer to enter the Columbia River by crossing over the sandbar that blocked its mouth. Gray sailed about 20 miles up the estuary of the river, traded with the Indians for a few days, and then left after drawing a chart of the mouth of the river. He named the river the Columbia after his ship, and claimed it for the United States. British Captain George Vancouver obtained a copy of Gray's chart from the Spanish governor at Nootka Sound and sailed to the mouth of the Columbia River in October 1792. He was unable to get his flagship Discovery over the sandbar, but Lt. William Robert Broughton succeeded with his smaller ship, the Chatham. Broughton advanced nearly 100 miles to a site opposite present-day Portland, Oregon, which he named Point Vancouver. To the east he saw a majestic mountain peak which he named Mount Hood. -- University of Virginia Library Special Collections Website, 2002 
Snake River:
The Snake River originates in Yellowstone National Park at 9,500 feet and winds through southern Idaho before turn0 feet and winds through southern Idaho before turning north to form the boundary between Idaho and Oregon. It finally joins the Columbia River near Pasco, Washington, at 340 feet in elevation, 1,036 miles from its source. How did it get its name? To identify themselves, Indians living along the river in southern Idaho used a hand sign that resembled the movement of a snake. Although it didn't mean "Snake", that name was given to this group of people, now known as Shoshone. The river flowing through the Snake Indian lands was given the tribal name. Lewis and Clark traveled through this area on their journey to find an inland waterway to the Pacific. Many miles upriver from Hells Gate State Park, the Snake River winds through Hells Canyon, one of the deepest gorges in North America. This wild and spectacular area is best visited by boat; there are no roads leading through the canyon. Old homesteads, long-forgotten prospector cabins, and Native American petroglyphs offer a fascinating human story in the midst of the spectacular scenery. -- U.S. National Park Service, Wild and Scenic Rivers Website, 2002, and Idaho State Parks and Recreation Website, 2002 |
| On landing we were met by our two chiefs, to whose good offices we were indebted for this reception, and also the two Indians who had passed us a few days since on horseback; one of whom appeared to be a man of influence, and harangued the Indians on our arrival. After smoking with the Indians, we formed a camp at the point where the two rivers unite [today's Pasco and Kennewick, Washington, at today's Sacajawea State Park], near to which we found some driftwood, and were supplied by our two old chiefs with the stalks of willows and some small bushes for fuel. ...... |
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Sacajawea State Park:
Sacajawea State Park: Sacajawea State Park is a 284-acre marine, day-use park at the confluence of the Snake and Columbia rivers. It features 9,100 feet of freshwater shoreline. The area is spread out with a big sky and excellent views of the two rivers as they flow together. The park's lands are sand dunes interspersed with wetland ponds. The park is on the plain of the great Lake Missoula floods, which swept through the area 12,000 years ago. The property was deeded to Washington State Parks in 1931. The park is named for Sacajawea, a Shoshoni Indian woman who traveled with the Lewis and Clark expedition. The park is located on one of the expedition's campsites, used by Lewis and Clark from October 16 to 18, 1805. -- Washington State Parks and Recreation Website, 2002 |
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The Camp - October 16 and 17, 1805:
The Corps of Discovery camped for two days at the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers at what is now known as Sacajawea State Park just outside Pasco on U.S. Route 12 heading towards Walla Walla. The original campsite is now under the waters of Lake Wallula, behind McNary Dam. |
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