Astoria and the Columbia River
"Ocian in view! O! the joy. Great joy in camp. We are in View of the Ocian, this great Pacific Octean which we [have] been So long anxious to See, and the roreing or noise made by the waves brakeing on the rockey Shores . . . may be heard distinctly."
These words were written by William Clark on November 7th, 1805, when the Corps of Volunteers for Northwest Discovery was finally on the verge of achieving one of the primary goals set before them by President Thomas Jefferson. As it turned out, they were actually some miles from the ocean and what they were seeing was the ever-widening mouth of the mighty Columbia. Nonetheless, the unadulterated elation that all the members of the Corps must have felt comes through in these few passionate lines.
This afternoon we cruised out to the infamous “Graveyard of the Pacific,” as the Columbia River bar is often called because of the nearly 2000 vessels that have gone down in her treacherous waters. As we looked back on Astoria, Oregon, and the 4.1 mile bridge spanning the river to Megler, WA, we recalled Clark’s words and reflected on all that we had learned during our week together about that historic journey from St. Louis to the Pacific and back. In visiting campsites once used by Lewis and Clark, seeing their mark on the landscape in the names of features from rivers to towns and identifying species first introduced to western science in the journals they left behind, we came to know this pivotal piece of American history in a more intimate, visceral way. The cast of characters has been set against the backdrop of a vibrant, living landscape, inspiring in us a deeper sense of place and a feeling of pride at the legacy of these true American heroes. O! the joy!
"Ocian in view! O! the joy. Great joy in camp. We are in View of the Ocian, this great Pacific Octean which we [have] been So long anxious to See, and the roreing or noise made by the waves brakeing on the rockey Shores . . . may be heard distinctly."
These words were written by William Clark on November 7th, 1805, when the Corps of Volunteers for Northwest Discovery was finally on the verge of achieving one of the primary goals set before them by President Thomas Jefferson. As it turned out, they were actually some miles from the ocean and what they were seeing was the ever-widening mouth of the mighty Columbia. Nonetheless, the unadulterated elation that all the members of the Corps must have felt comes through in these few passionate lines.
This afternoon we cruised out to the infamous “Graveyard of the Pacific,” as the Columbia River bar is often called because of the nearly 2000 vessels that have gone down in her treacherous waters. As we looked back on Astoria, Oregon, and the 4.1 mile bridge spanning the river to Megler, WA, we recalled Clark’s words and reflected on all that we had learned during our week together about that historic journey from St. Louis to the Pacific and back. In visiting campsites once used by Lewis and Clark, seeing their mark on the landscape in the names of features from rivers to towns and identifying species first introduced to western science in the journals they left behind, we came to know this pivotal piece of American history in a more intimate, visceral way. The cast of characters has been set against the backdrop of a vibrant, living landscape, inspiring in us a deeper sense of place and a feeling of pride at the legacy of these true American heroes. O! the joy!
