I have been missing a few map Monday for no good reason, so maybe I can get in the grove again.
This week map is of "Great Falls of the Columbia" (aka Celilo Falls). The falls was on the Columbia River, just east of the Dallas on the border of Washington and Oregon. I use "was" because it was drowned by the construction of the Dalles Dam in 1957. The falls themselves are local knickpoints at a layer of basalt (part of the Columbia River Basalt Group).
The actual map is from the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Note the map shows their campsite and portage route around the falls.
The Map is from the David Rumsey collection.
Map Information
Allen, P., Biddle, N., Clark, W., Lewis, M. 1814. Great Falls of the Columbia. from History Of The Expedition Under The Command Of Captains Lewis And Clark, To The Sources Of The Missouri, Thence Across The Rocky Mountains And Down The River Columbia To The Pacific Ocean. Performed During The Years 1804-5-6.
3 comments:
My mother often remarked at how beautiful Celilo Falls were (I grew up in eastern WA). I always wished I could see them on our myriad of trips along the Columbia. Craig Lesley, a NW author who writes about that region frequently in his fiction, had a description in one of his books of the covering of the falls. I don't know if it is correct, but it went something like this: the Celilo Indians, seeing the reservoir slowly rise and cover the falls, turned their backs to the river and cried "we have killed our mother."
That is so sad....
I had a very difficult time reading it; I think I had to put the book down and go do something else for awhile. The fact that I read this 15-20 years ago shows how much of an impact it had.
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