Lewis and Clark's Columbia River
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Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later"
"Toothrock Tunnel, Oregon"
Includes ... Toothrock Tunnel ... Tooth Rock Tunnel ... Bonneville Tunnel ... Historic Columbia River Highway ... The Golden Age of Postcards ...
Image, 2010, Toothrock Tunnel, Oregon, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Toothrock Tunnel, Bonneville, Historic Columbia River Highway, Oregon. View from front window of moving car. Image taken March 6, 2010.


Toothrock Tunnel ("Tooth Rock Tunnel") ...
The Toothrock Tunnel was built in 1936 as part of the Columbia River Highway, today known as the Historic Columbia River Highway (HCRH). It is 837 feet in length, 28 feet wide, and with a vertical clearance of 16 feet. The portals were stone and the lining concrete. The tunnel is located at milepost 41.16 on Interstate 84 near the Bonneville Dam. The tunnel, along with the Eagle Creek Bridge located just upstream, is one of the few places of HCRH which is used by I-84. Eastbound traffic goes through the tunnel.

"Toothrock" or "Tooth Rock" ??? ...
The State of Oregon Department of Transportation website (2006) and the U.S. National Park Service website (2006) list the tunnel as "Toothrock Tunnel". The U.S. Board of Geographic Names website (2006) lists the tunnel as "Tooth Rock Tunnel".

Image, 2010, Toothrock Tunnel, Oregon, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Toothrock Tunnel, Bonneville, Historic Columbia River Highway, Oregon. View from front window of moving car. Image taken March 6, 2010.


"The Golden Age of Postcards" ...

The early 1900s was the "Golden Age of Postcards". The "Penny Postcard" became a popular way to send greetings to friends and family. Today the Penny Postcard has become an snapshot of history.

Penny Postcard, Toothrock Tunnel and Bonneville Dam, ca.1940s
Click image to enlarge
Penny Postcard: Toothrock Tunnel and Bonneville Dam, view from the east, ca.1940s.
Penny Postcard, ca.1940s, "Highway and Railway Tunnels, Bonneville Dam, Columbia River, Oregon". Published by Wesley Andrews Co., Portland, Or., Card #808. In the private collection of Lyn Topinka.
Penny Postcard, Toothrock Tunnel, ca.1940s
Click image to enlarge
Penny Postcard: Illuminated Toothrock Tunnel, ca.1940s.
Penny Postcard, ca.1940s, "Illuminated Tunnel, near Bonneville Dam, Columbia River Highway, Oregon.". Photo by Wesley Andrews. Published by Wesley Andrews Co., Portland, Or., Card #778. In the private collection of Lyn Topinka.


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: Oregon State Department of Transportation Website, 2006; U.S. Geological Survey Website, 2006, Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).

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.
ColumbiaRiverImages.com/Regions/Places/toothrock_tunnel.html
© 2009, Lyn Topinka, EnglishRiverWebsite, All rights reserved.
Images are NOT to be downloaded from this website.
March 2010