The Mouth of the Columbia River

The Columbia River has a storied reputation with boaters. "Crossing the bar" - the term used when entering the river's mouth from the sea - can be one of the most adventurous and hair-raising feats accomplished in a mariner's sailing life. The rollers passing over the sand bar that protects the entrance have dumped many a small vessels on its ear, or worse.

This day found the weather to be just what the sailer ordered, although it doesn't necessarily look like it in this photo.

The breadth of the river at its mouth has to make it one of the very largest in the U.S. - maybe the Hudson River at the port of New York is bigger or perhaps the Delaware at the entrance to its bay, but this one is mighty impressive. It is so large that there are two lighthouses that mark the location for ships at sea. We visited both of them.

North Head is just a short walk from the parking area, and offers panoramic views of the coastline looking back to the south toward the jetty on the north side of the entrance.

Cape Disappointment - what were they disappointed about?? - is a hike through heavy woods and tall grasses with deer keeping close watch on us passers-by.

Actually, the voyager who discovered the cape was searching for a trade route into the interior (yeah, like the Columbia river) but failed to see the mouth of the river right in front of him (a REALLY foggy day?) and turned back to the north, "disappointed" that he missed what he was looking for.

On the south side of the four mile long river bridge is the town of Astoria, Oregon. The history of the area is  heavily associated with Lewis and Clark.  Their exploration and mapping of the west ended here at the river's mouth, and they established Fort Clatsop nearby before starting their trek back east.

At the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park, a replica of the fort has been constructed - actually, it is the second one - the first, lasting 50 years, burned down a year before the bicentennial celebration. This one was built by 700 volunteers in under a year, and is said to be more like the original.

Astoria, as its name suggests, is also closely associated with John Jacob Astor and his descendents. He founded the town as a shipping point for his fur trading business. His great-grandson had a tower erected 80 years ago to commemorate the role the town played in his family history, The 125-foot structure is now called the Astoria Column. It observation deck makes an excellent viewpoint for surveying the river traffic, like this U.S. naval vessel heading downriver.