Lewis and Clark's Columbia River - Reed Island, Washington

Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later"
"Reed Island, Washington"

Includes ... Reed Island ... Reed Island State Park ...

Image, 2004, Reed Island, Washington, as seen from Crown Point, Oregon, click to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Reed Island, Washington, as seen from Crown Point, Oregon. Steigerwald Lake NWR is in the distance (right) on the Washington shore. Rooster Rock State Park, Oregon, is in the foreground. Image taken October 11, 2004.

Reed Island ...

Reed Island, Washington, is a two and one-half-mile long, 508-acre island in the middle of the Columbia River, at River Mile (RM) 124.5. The downstream point of the island is across from Cottonwood Beach and Cottonwood Point, and the upper end of the island is across from Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Another half mile upstream on the Washington side is Point Vancouver, the highest point Lieutenant Broughton journeyed in 1792, and named after the expedition commander Captain George Vancouver. On the Oregon side is Tunnel Point. Good views of Reed Island can be had from Vista House at Crown Point, Oregon

Reed Island State Park ...

Reed Island is an undeveloped Washington State Park, accessible only by boat; ammenities include primitive camp sites, picnic tables, and a short hiking trail. Reed Island supports one of the largest great blue heron rookeries in the Pacific Northwest. In 2002, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife reported 84 nests surveyed with 82 being active.

Early Reed Island ...

Reed Island was named after William Reed who had property on the island.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records, show a William H. H. Reed being issued a land title on October 26, 1892, for 103.8 acres of parts of T1N R4E Section 23 (Reed Island and parts of the Washington shore), under the 1820 "Sale-Cash Entry".

Reed Island was once called "Vancouver Island". Point Vancouver, the farthest upstream that Lieutenant Broughton (of the George Vancouver Expedition) journeyed.

Views of Reed Island ...

Click image to enlarge	View downstream from Vista House. View shows Tunnel Point, Reed Island, and Cottonwood Point behind Reed Island. Interstate 84 is in the foreground below the lighting fixture from the Historic Columbia River Highway. Image taken October 21, 2006.
Click image to enlarge	Upstream end of Reed Island, Washington, as seen from Tunnel Point, Oregon. Steigerwald Lake NWR is in the distance (right) on the Washington shore. Image taken June 15, 2003.
Click image to enlarge	Downstream end of Reed Island, Washington, as seen from Cottonwood Beach, Washington. Image taken July 3, 2003.

From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...

Clark, ...

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^*River Miles [RM] are approximate, in statute miles, and were determined from USGS topo maps, obtained from NOAA nautical charts, or obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Website, 2003

Sources: Vancouver-Clark Washington Parks and Recreation Website, 2004; Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Website, 2004.

All Lewis and Clark quotations from Gary Moulton editions of the Lewis and Clark Journals, University of Nebraska Press, all attempts have been made to type the quotations exactly as in the Moulton editions, however typing errors introduced by this web author cannot be ruled out; location interpretation from variety of sources, including this website author.