A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER follows Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery down the Columbia River from Wallula Gap to the mouth at Astoria. That this work is brief rests on two factors: The first is the obvious fact that it is short. This is not the definitive history of the river. The second point is that not all of the river is described. Lewis and Clark joined the Columbia at its confluence with the Snake at Walla Walla; and this account follows their journey from Sacagawea Point to its contentious meeting with the Pacific Ocean. The intention is to compare and contrast the Columbia of Lewis and Clark with the river as it is now. The journals of the two leaders are quoted in each chapter to give a glimpse of what they saw and thought. Old black and white photographs taken before the dams add some visual reference.
