"About eight miles above the mouth of the Wallamot the little squadron arrived at Vancouver's Point, so called in honor of that celebrated voyager by his lieutenant when he explored the river. This point is said to present one of the most beautiful scenes on the Columbia; a lovely meadow, with a silver sheet of limpid water in the center, enlivened by wild-fowl, a range of hills crowned by forests, while the prospect is closed by Mount Hood, a magnificent mountain rising into a lofty peak, and covered with snow; the ultimate landmark of the first explorers of the river. Point Vancouver is about one hundred miles from Astoria. Here the reflux of the tide ceases to be perceptible. To this place vessels of two and three hundred tons burden may ascend."

"Having now passed the sand bank," says Mr. Broughton, "I landed for the purpose of taking our last bearings; a sandy point on the opposite shore bore S.80E., distant about 2 miles; this point terminating our view of the river, I named it after Captain Vancouver; it is situated in latitude 45 degrees 27 minutes, longitude 237 degrees 50 minutes."

In 1841 Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Exploring Expedition surveyed this area, and while Point Vancouver is depicted on his 1841 map, Captain Wilkes did not give the point a name. He did however label today's Cottonwood Point (downstream approximately 3 miles) "Point Broughton".