The Volcanoes of
Lewis and Clark
Lewis and Clark
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October 29, 1805 The Columbia River Gorge - The Dalles to Little White Salmon |
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The Volcanoes of Lewis and Clark Map of the Journey Volcanoes, Basalt Plateaus, Major Rivers, etc. The Volcanoes Mount Adams, Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, Mount Rainier, and Mount St. Helens 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 26-28 The Dalles, "Long Narrows" |
October 29
Entering the Columbia River Gorge, The Dalles to the Little White Salmon Rowena Gap Basalts, Klickitat River and Lyle (Washington), Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Memaloose Island, Bingen Gap Basalts, Hood River and Hood River Valley, Mount Hood, White Salmon River, Columbia River west of White Salmon, Mount Adams, Underwood Mountain, Little White Salmon River |
CONTINUE
October 30 "Lower Falls of the Columbia", Dog Mountain to Cascade Locks |
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.
[Click map for brief summary about the area] |
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To the Pacific - October 1805
The Columbia River Gorge - The Dalles to Little White Salmon |
| Lewis and Clark's camp of October 28, 1805, was on the Oregon side of the Columbia River, near Crate's Point and Rocky Island. On October 29, 1805, the men begin their journey down the Columbia River Gorge. |
| Tuesday, October 29, 1805 |
| The morning was still cloudy, and the wind from the west, but as it had abated its violence, we set out at daylight. At the distance of four miles we passed a creek on the right [??? --- Note: this Biddle/Allen publication has the creek on the right. Thwaites and Moulton versions have the creek on the left, see quoted passage below.], one mile below which is a village of seven houses on the same side. This is the residence of the principal chief of the Chilluckittequaw nation, whom we now found to be the same between whom and our two chiefs we had made a peace at the Echeloot village. ...... |
| "... A cloudy morning wind from the West but not hard, we Set out at day light, and proceeded on about 'five' miles Came too on the Stard. Side at a village of 7 houses ... we call this the friendly village. ..." [Clark, October 29, 1805] |
| The hills as we passed are high with steep and rocky sides, [basalts of Rowena Gap area] and some pine and white oak, and an undergrowth of shrubs scattered over them. |
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Rowena Gap Basalts: Doug's Beach State Park is situated underneath basalt cliffs carved by the flood waters of the last ice age. The basalt emerged as immense lava flows from massive cracks in the earth's crust. These flows covered all of eastern Washington and Oregon long before the floods. An observer can identify the various flows by the distinct stratigraphy along the cliff walls. Some flows appear to have been hundreds of feet thick in some areas. In Captain Clark's mileage notes compiled at Fort Clatsop, he used the name "Pilgrim rocks" for this area. Today's maps show "Rowena Gap". The river bluffs, with six separate basalt lava flows, stand bare of soil to about the 1,000-foot level. The spectacular bluffs on the northern shore of the Columbia are situated in Klickitat County, Washington, east of Lyle. In 1805, Lewis and Clark stopped for supplies at an Indian village in the vicinity of today's Doug's Beach State Park. The park acquired its name from a windsurfer who used to frequent the beach when the sport was in its infancy. On the south side is Meyer State Park, and more basalts of Rowena Gap. Spectacular views are available from the top of the ridge at Rowena Crest, Oregon. -- Washington State Parks Website, 2002, Washington State Historical Society Website, 2002, Washington State Parks and Recreation Website, 2003, and Oregon State Parks and Recreation Website, 2003. 
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| Four miles below this village is a small river on the right side [Klickitat River]; immediately below is a village of Chilluckittequaws, consisting of eleven houses. [today Lyle, Washingon, is located on the upstream bank of the Klickitat where it merges with the Columbia] Here we landed and smoked a pipe with the inhabitants, who were very cheerful and friendly. They as well as the people of the last village inform us, that this river [Klickitat River] comes a considerable distance from the N.N.E. that it has a great number of falls, which prevent the salmon from passing up, and that there are ten nations residing on it who subsist on berries, or such game as they can procure with their bows and arrows. At its mouth the river is sixty yards wide, and has a deep and very rapid channel. From the number of falls of which the Indians spoke, we gave it the name of Cataract river [Klickitat River]. We purchased four dogs, and then proceeded. |
| "... after brackfast we proceeded on, the mountains are high on each Side, containing Scattering pine white oake & under groth, hill Sides Steep and rockey; at 4 miles lower we observed a Small river falling in with great rapidity on the Stard. Side below which is a village of 11 houses, here we landed to Smoke a pipe with the nativs and examine the mouth of the river, which I found to be 60 yards wide rapid and deep, The inhabitants of the village are friendly and Chearfull; those people inform us also those at last village that this little river is long and full of falls, no Salmon pass up it, it runs from N. N. E. that 'ten' nations live on this river and its waters ... we purchased 4 dogs and Set out -- ..." [Clark, October 29, 1805] |
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Klickitat River: The Klickitat River is located on the east slope of the Cascade Range in south-central Washington and drains 1,350 square miles in Klickitat and Yakima counties. The Klickitat is one of the longest undammed rivers in the northwest. It flows 95 miles south from its source in the Cascades and enters the Columbia at River Mile 180, thirty-four miles upstream of Bonneville Dam. The geology of the Klickitat watershed is dominated by extensive basalt strata having a total thickness of several thousand feet. The crest of the Cascade Mountains, dominated by 12,000-foot Mount Adams ("Pahto") forms the western boundary of the basin. At the northwest corner of the basin lie the Goat Rocks, the deeply eroded remnants of an extinct volcano, that reach to about 8,000 feet. Basalt ridges and plateaus separate the Klickitat from other river basins on the north and east. About 75 percent of the subbasin is forested. The Klickitat River is located within the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area. The spectacular geological formation of the "Narrows" supports one of the only two active Native American dip-net fisheries in the Columbia River Basin. Upstream on the Klickitat, anglers drift the river in pursuit of salmon and steelhead trout while marveling at the views of the wide rolling hills and basalt gorge landscape. -- Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority Website, 2002, and U.S. National Park Service, Wild and Scenic Rivers Website, 2002 
Lyle, Washington: Lyle has a rich heritage that extends from the Indians who chose the location for their villages to the pioneers who arrived by ox-drawn carts from states far to the east. The first known white men to visit the site were members of the Lewis and Clark expedition who recorded their visit to the Indian village on the knoll west of the Klickitat on October 29, 1805. In 1876, the first Post Office east of the Cascades and north of the Columbia River was established at Klickitat Landing to service most of Eastern Washington. The mail arrived by steamship and was distributed by horseback. In 1876, James O. Lyle became the Postmaster and changed the name to Lyle. Early settlers recognized the strategic importance of Lyle and platted a town site. A ferry boat run was developed to accommodated trade between Oregon and Washington. In 1909, the present town of Lyle was platted. Two sheep sheds with a capacity of 30,000 sheet were constructed on the Point. With those in place, Lyle became an important sheep and wool shipping center. -- Lyle, Washington, Community Website, 2003
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| The country as we advance is more rocky and broken, and the pine and low whiteoak on the hills increase in great quantity. [Lewis and Clark are now in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area] |
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Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area: Lewis and Clark have entered what is today the "Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area". The Columbia River Gorge is a spectacular river canyon cutting the only sea-level route through the Cascade Mountain Range. The Gorge is 80 miles long and up to 4,000 feet deep, with the north canyon walls in Washington State and the south canyon walls in the State of Oregon. The "Gorge" is located approximately 20 miles east of Portland, Oregon, with Visitor Centers being located at Skamania Lodge, Multnomah Falls, the Gorge Discover Center in The Dalles, and at Bonneville Dam. -- U.S. Forest Service Website, 2002, and Lewis and Clark Bicentennial "lewisandclar200.gov" Website, 2002 
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| Three miles below Cataract river [Klickitat River] we passed three large rocks in the river; that in the middle is large and longer than the rest, and from the circumstance of its having several square vaults on it, obtained the name of Sepulchre island [Memaloose Island]. |
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Memaloose Island: Lewis and Clark called this island "Sepulchar Island". The Chinook Indian tribes of the Columbia Gorge used to lay the bones of their dead on open pyres on Memaloose Island in the middle of the Columbia River near The Dalles. A granite monument visible from Memaloose State Park campground marks the resting place where a local pioneer named Victor Trevitt wished to chart his eternal course buried among honorable men. Memaloose State Park, Oregon, was named for the island. -- Oregon State Parks and Recreation Website, 2002, and Lewis & Clark Bicentennial of Oregon Website, 2002 
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| A short distance below are two huts of Indians on the right: the river now widens, and in three miles we came to two more houses on the right; one mile beyond which is a rocky island [possibly Eighteenmile Island] in a bend of the river towards the left. Within the next six miles we passed fourteen huts of Indians, scattered on the right bank, [passing thru the basalts of the Bingen Gap] |
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Bingen Gap basalts: 
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| and then reached the entrance of a river on the left, which we called Labieshe's river [Hood River], after Labieshe one of our party. |
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Hood River: The Hood River watershed is located in north central Oregon and covers 339 square miles. The river flows north from Mount Hood into the Columbia River 22 miles upstream of the Bonneville Dam. The Hood River has three major forks - the West Fork enters the mainstem 12 miles from the Columbia, while the Middle and East Forks converge near River Mile 15. The watershed has an estimated 695 stream miles with 108 miles accessible to anadromous fish. About 100,000 years ago, a large portion of Mount Hood's north flank and summit collapsed. The resulting debris avalanche transformed into a lahar (mudflow) that swept down the Hood River valley. At the river's mouth (where the city of Hood River now stands) the lahar was 400 feet deep. The lahar crossed the Columbia River and surged up the White Salmon River valley on the Washington side. Since that time lava has filled in the scar left by the debris avalanche. Today the Hood River Bridge connects the cities of Hood River, Oregon, with Bingen and White Salmon in Washington State. The Hood River Bridge is one of only three river crossings in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The bridge was recently designated by the Washington State Legislature as State Route 35. It was built in 1924 and is the second oldest Columbia River crossing. Lewis and Clark called this river "Labieche", after Private Francois Labiche, a member of the expedition. Another early name was "Dog River". Today's name "Hood River" is taken from Mount Hood, the source of the river. -- Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority Website, 2002, Gardner, et.al., 2000, USGS Fact Sheet 060-00, Oregon State Archives Website, 2002, Washington State Department of Transportation Website, 2003, and Washington State Historical Society Website, 2004, "Lasting Legacy". 
Geology of Hood River Valley: The Hood River Valley is an incompletely understood structural depression extending north into Washington and southward toward Mount Hood. The valley's east margin is a series of anastomosing normal-slip faults that displace the Columbia River Basalt Group by about 1,800 feet in the area of Panorama Point, Oregon. Panorama Point itself is a promontory of the Wanapum Basalt Formation, but the hills to the east in the Hood River escarpment are underlain by the Grande Ronde Basalt, a stratigraphically lower formation (also in the Columbia River Basalt Group) displaced upward by the faults. The Hood River valley extends north a few miles into Washington, although an early Pleistocene volcano, Underwood Mountain, fills much of it there. A lava from Underwood Mountain has a K-Ar (whole rock, Hammond and Korosec, 1983) age of 0.85+/-0.02 million years. -- Scott, et. al., 1997 |
| Just above this river [Hood River] is a low ground more thickly timbered than usual, and in front are four huts of Indians on the bank, which are the first we have seen on that side of the Columbia. The exception may be occasioned by this spot's being more than usually protected from the approach of their enemies, by the creek, and the thick wood behind. |
| The Biddle/Allen version did not mention Mount Hood to the south. The original journals however refer to it as the "falls mountain". |
| "... 4 Houses in a point of a timbered bottom on the Lard. Side at a large creek or River 40 yr. passed a bottom on the Stard Side the distance in which there is 14 Indian houses -- The falls mountain covered with Snow is South. S.70o W. 6 miles to a high Clift of rocks Std bend passed a large creek at 1 mile on the Stard. Side in which the Indians catch fish, a large Sand bar from the Lard. Side for 4 miles, at which place a small stream of water falls over a rock of 100 feet on the Lard Side passed 4 Indian Houses at 5 miles in a bottom on the Lard Side ..." [Clark, October 29, 1805, first draft] |
| "... passed 2 Lodges of Indians a Short distance below the Sepulchar Island on the Stard. Side river wide, at 4 mile passed 2 houses on the Stard. Side, Six miles lower passed 4 houses above the mouth of a Small river 40 yards wide on the Lard. Side a thick timbered bottom above & back of those houses; those are the first houses which we have Seen on the South Side of the Columbia River, ... from the mouth of this little river which we shall Call Labeasche River, the 'falls mountain' is South and the top is covered with Snow , one mile below pass the mouth of a large rapid Stream on the Stard. Side, opposit ot a large Sand bar, in this creek the Indians above take their fish, here we Saw Several canoes, which induced us to call this Canoe Creek it is 28 yards wide, about 4 miles lower and below the Sand bar is a butifull cascade falling over a rock of about 100 feet ..." [Clark, October 29, 1805] |
| "... In the evening we discovered a hight mountain to the south, not more than five miles off, covered with snow. We have here still water; and the breadth of the river is from three quarters to a mile. ..." [Gass, October 29, 1805] |
| "... Saw Snow on a mountain on the Lard Side. ..." [Ordway, October 29, 1805] |
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Mount Hood: Mount Hood, at 11,245 feet high, is the fourth highest peak in the Cascade Range and the highest in the state of Oregon. The peak dominates the skyline from the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area to the wheat fields of Wasco and Sherman Counties of eastern Oregon. 
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| We again embarked, and at the distance of a mile passed the mouth of a rapid creek on the right [White Salmon River] eighteen yards wide: in this creek the Indians whom we left take their fish, and from the number of canoes which were in it, we called it Canoe creek [White Salmon River]. |
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White Salmon River: The White Salmon River originates in south central Washington along the south slope of Mount Adams. It flows south for 45 miles before entering the Columbia River and Bonneville Reservoir near Underwood, Washington, at Columbia River Mile 167. The White Salmon River drains approximately 386 square miles. Principal tributaries include Trout Lake, Buck, Mill, Dry, Gilmer, and Rattlesnake Creeks. The White Salmon basin is oriented north to south with elevations ranging from 80 feet to 7,500 feet. Topography varies within the watershed from rugged mountains to rolling hills to river valleys. Consolidated sediments are overlain with basaltic lava flows. Subsequent erosion, mud flows, and glaciation have resulted in precipitous cliffs, deeply incised canyons, and relatively flat valley floors. The mainstem of the White Salmon River drops 7,420 feet in 45 miles for an average gradient of 3.2 percent. Churning rapids and unique beauty draw visitors to the White Salmon River. Glacial waters and cold clear springs support a lush plant life, while continuous rapids, waterfalls, and abrupt drops challenge boaters of advanced skills. The best fishing is below BZ Corners, however difficult access because the river is in a steep canyon. Most of the river corridor is private land. -- Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority Website, 2002, U.S. National Park Service, Wild and Scenic Rivers Website, 2002, and U.S. Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot National Forest Website, 2002
Columbia River west of White Salmon: The Washington town of White Salmon is located on the bluff, just upstream of the White Salmon River.
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| While Lewis and Clark did not make mentioned of it, Mount Adams is occasionally visible along this section of the Columbia River. |
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Mount Adams: Mount Adams, Washington, is visible from Hood River, Oregon. Mount Adams, at 12,276 feet, is one of the largest volcanoes in the Cascade Range. The towering stratovolcano is marked by a dozen glaciers, most of which are fed radially from its summit icecap.
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| Just downstream of the White Salmon River is the Pleistocene volcano, Underwood Mountain. |
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Underwood Mountain: The right bank of the White Salmon River skirts the base of a Pleistocene volcano Underwood Mountain (2,755 feet). At this location, the Hood River valley extends north a few miles into Washington, and the early Pleistocene volcano, Underwood Mountain, fills much of it there. A lava from Underwood Mountain has a K-Ar (whole rock, Hammond and Korosec, 1983) age of 0.85+/-0.02 million years. The geology of this area is characterized by basalt flows of Pleistocene and Miocene age, commonly separated by interbeds of other rock types and (or) soil horizons. These basalt flows lie approximately in a horizontal plane, but have been subjected to considerable faulting. -- Scott, et. al., 1997, and Hinkle, 1996, USGS WRI95-4272.
Geology of the Underwood Mountain Area: Geologic mapping in the region, compiled by Korosec (1987), identifies three principal geologic units in the area: Grande Ronde Basalt, Frenchman Springs Member of the Wanapum Basalt, and Basalt of Underwood Mountain. The Grande Ronde Basalt is composed of Miocene flows of the Columbia River Basalt Group. The Grande Ronde Basalt is the thickest formation in the Columbia River Basalt Group, and it commonly exceeds 1,000 feet in thickness. The Frenchman Springs Member of the Wanapum Basalt overlies the Grande Ronde Basalt. In this area, the Frenchman Springs Member crops out in the cliffs above the Spring Creek Fish Hatchery, and the hatchery springs discharge from the member of the Wanapum Basalt. The Frenchman Springs Member is a series of Miocene flows of the Columbia River Basalt Group. The thickness of these flows in this area is unknown, but in its type locality, the Frenchman Springs Member is 250 feet thick. The Basalt of Underwood Mountain overlies the Frenchman Springs Member and is widely exposed on Underwood Mountain and Underwood Heights. Basalt of Underwood Mountain is a Pleistocene unit composed of numerous blocky, jointed flows, each about 10 to 30 feet thick. The total thickness of the Basalt of Underwood Mountain reaches at least 590 feet. -- Hinkle, 1996, USGS WRI95-4272 |
| Opposite to this creek [White Salmon River] is a large sandbar, which continues for four miles along the left side of the river. Just below this a beautiful cascade falls in on the left over a precipice of rock one hundred feet in height [???, near Mitchell Point]. One mile further are four Indian huts in the low ground on the left: and two miles beyond this a point of land on the right, where the mountains become high on both sides, and possess more timber and greater varieties of it than hitherto, and those on the left are covered with snow. One mile from this point we halted for the night at three Indian huts on the right [near the mouth of the Little White Salmon River] having made thirty-two miles. ...... |
| "... Here the mountains are high on each Side, those to the Lard. Side has Some Snow on them at this time, more timber than above and of greater variety. ..." [Clark, October 29, 1805] |
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Little White Salmon River: The Little White Salmon River originates in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest west of Monte Cristo Peak in south-central Washington and enters Drano Lake near Cook, Washington. Drano Lake, a backwater created by impoundment of the Columbia River, enters Bonneville Reservoir at River Mile 162. Lewis and Clark did not observe this drainage but marked its course on the route map, based on information obtained from the local inhabitants. "Little Lake Creek" was a description and not intended as a place name for the unseen drainage. The corps camped the evening of October 29, 1805, near a "Pond" close to the northern shore and marked the little lake on their route map. The present place name derived from its association to the larger upstream drainage in the same region. This body of water is now known as Drano Lake, but the physiography has been changed by backwaters from Bonneville Dam and highway construction. -- Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority Website, 2002, and Washington State Historical Society Website, 2002
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The Camp - October 29, 1805:
Lewis and Clark camped on the Washington side of the Columbia, upstream of the Little White Salmon River, at a village near a "Pond". Today the Washington town of Cook is located at the mouth of the Little White Salmon River, and the "Pond" is today's Drano Lake. |
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