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Wind River, Washington, looking towards mouth.
From the Wind River boat dock looking towards the mouth, at the railroad bridge across the Wind River. Washington State Highway 14 is just this side of the railroad and barely visible in this image. Hills in the distance are the Oregon banks of the Columbia.
Image taken October 25, 2003.
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Wind River ...
Wind River Drainage ...
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According to the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority website (2004), the Wind River basin is oriented northwest to southeast with elevations ranging from 80 feet to 3,900 feet. The mainstem of the Wind River originates in McClellan Meadows, drains 225 square miles, and has a length of approximately 31 miles.
The largest tributary to Wind River is Panther Creek which enters at RM 4.3 and drains 18% of the Wind River subbasin (26,466 acres).
A fish ladder was built in 1956 around Shipherd Falls, located at RM 2.0. Shipherd Falls is a series of four falls ranging from 8 to 12 feet.
The lava around Wind River consists of a series of lava flows more than 35,000-years-old, which came down the Wind River canyon as intracanyon flows, entered the Columbia River on a 1-mile-wide front, and dammed the river. The dam lasted long enough for the Wind River to build a delta 150 feet thick and 1 mile long into a temporary lake.
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Lewis and Clark and the Wind River ...
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Lewis and Clark passed by the Wind River on October 30, 1805. They first named the river "New Timbered River" but later changed the name to "Cruzatts River" after one of the expedition members, Pierre Cruzatte. Variations Clark used of the name include "Cruzats River", "Cruzatts River", and "River Cruzatt".
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"... The bottoms above the mouth of this little river <which we Call> is rich
covered with grass & firn & is about 3/4 of a mile wide rich and rises gradually, below the river
(which is 60 yards wide above its mouth) the Countery rises with Steep assent. we call this little
river <fr Ash> New Timbered river from a Speces of Ash which grows on its banks of
a verry large and different from any we had before Seen, and a timber resembling the beech in
bark <& groth> but different in its leaf which is Smaller and the tree smaller.
..."
[Clark, October 30, 1805]
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Early Wind River ...
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Early names for Wind River were "New Timbered River" and various spellings of "Cruzattes River", named after Lewis and Clark member Peter Cruzatte.
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"... we call this little river New Timbered river from a Species of Ash which grows on its banks ..."
[Clark, October 30, 1805]
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"... I walkd. to Crusats river and up it 1/2 a mile ... I was convinced that the hunters must have been up River Cruzatt. ..."
[Clark, April 13, 1806]
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"... note seing the perogues on the opposite side I ascended the river untill one oclock or about 5 ms. above the entrance of Cruzat's river. ..."
[Lewis, April 13, 1806]
Edmond S. Meany wrote in "Origin of Washington Geographic Names" (1923, University of Washington):
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"Wind River, a tributary of the Columbia River, in the south central part of Skamania County, was named Crusatte's River by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1805, after one of the men in the party. The present descriptive name was mentioned by Governor Isaac I. Stevens in 1853. (Pacific Railroad Surveys, Vol. XII, Part I, page 138)."
Robert Hitchman wrote in "Place Names of Washington" (1985, Washington State Historical Society):
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"Wind River (SKAMANIA) ... The stream of the river heads in McClellan Meadows, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, central Skamania County, flows south and southeast 28 miles to enter Columbia River at Home Valley. About 1853, the name was applied by pioneers because prevailing winds sweep up and down Columbia River, constantly blowing through the rocky canyon where the river runs much of its course. An earlier name, applied in 1806 by Lewis and Clark Expedition, was Cruzatte River, for Peter Cruzatte, one of the party."
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Views ...
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Wind River, Washington, as seen from near Carson, Washington.
Looking down on the Wind River, from the road to Carson, Washington.
Image taken October 25, 2003.
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Wind River, Washington, looking upstream from mouth.
From the Wind River boat dock looking upstream.
Image taken October 25, 2003.
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- RM 0.0 ... Burlington Northern Sante Fe (BNSF) Wind River Bridge ...
- RM 0.0 ... SP#4449 Excursion Train ...
- RM 0.0 ... Senator Al Henry Bridge ...
- RM 0.0 ... Wind River Tribal "In-lieu" Fishing Access Site ...
- RM 0.0 ... Wind Mountain ...
- RM 0.5 ... Downstream of the Power Lines ...
- RM 1.0 ... Carson ...
- RM 1.0 ... Carson Hot Springs ...
- RM 2.0 ... Shipherd Falls ...
- RM 2.0 ... Shipherd's Hot Springs ...
- RM 5.0 ... Conrad Lundy Jr. Bridge ("High Bridge") ...
- RM 5.0 ... Wind River Canyon ...
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RM 0.0 ... BNSF Wind River Bridge ...
According to the "BridgeHunter.com" website (2018), the Burlinton Northern Sante Fe Railroad bridge across Wind River is a Pratt through truss bridge built by American Bridge Company of New York.
[More]
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Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad Bridge crossing Wind River.
View is from Washington State 14 at the upstream side, looking towards the mouth of Wind River.
Image taken September 16, 2006.
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RM 0.0 ... SP #4449 Excursion Train at Wind River, September 2006 ...
On the weekend of September 16 and 17, 2006, the Northwest Rail Museum sponsored a round-trip excursion train from Portland, Oregon, to Bend, Oregon, via the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge, turning south on the Oregon Trunk Line, and then up the Deschutes Canyon. The engine pulling this train was the historic steam engine, the Southern Pacific #4449.
[More]
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SP #4449 Steam Engine, at Wind River, Washington, Columbia Gorge.
Image taken September 16, 2006.
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RM 0.0 ... Senator Al Henry Bridge ...
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In 1987, the Washington State Highway 14 bridge at the mouth of the Wind River was named the Senator Al Henry Bridge. Highway 14 is located on the upstream side of the BNSF Railroad Bridge.
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Looking upstream Wind River from the Senator Al Henry Bridge, Washington State Highway 14.
Image taken September 16, 2006.
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RM 0.0 ... Wind River Tribal "In-lieu" Fishing Access Site, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission ...
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All four Columbia River treaty tribes enjoy fishing rights along the Columbia from the Bonneville to McNary dams. This 147-mile stretch of the river is called Zone 6.
The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) operates and maintains 31 fishing sites (2015, Note: the website map only shows 30 sites) in Zone 6. These sites were set aside by Congress to provide fishing locations to Indian fishers whose traditional fishing grounds were inundated behind dams.
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"For fisheries management purposes, the 292-mile stretch of the Columbia River that creates the border between Washington and Oregon is divided into six zones. Zones 1-5 are between the mouth of the river and Bonneville Dam, a distance of 145 miles. Oregon and Washington manage the commercial fisheries that occur in these zones. Zone 6 is an exclusive treaty Indian commercial fishing area. This exclusion is for commercial fishing only. Non-commercial sports fishers may still fish in this stretch of the river."
[Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission website, 2016]
The Zone 6 sites include
19 Treaty Fishing Access sites
(Bonneville,
Wyeth,
White Salmon,
Stanley Rock,
Lyle,
Dallesport,
Celilo,
Maryhill,
Rufus,
Preacher's Eddy,
North Shore,
LePage Park,
Pasture Point,
Roosevelt Park,
Pine Creek,
Threemile Canyon,
Alderdale,
Crow Butte,
and Faler Road),
five "In-lieu" sites
(Cascade Locks,
Wind River,
Cooks,
Underwood, and
Lone Pine),
two "Shared-use" sites
(Avery and
Sundale Park, for both Tribal use and Public use),
and four "Unimproved" sites with no services
(Goodnoe,
Rock Creek,
Moonay,
and
Aldercreek).
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RM 0.0 ... Wind Mountain ...
Wind Mountain, a 35,000-year-old, 1,903-foot-high volcanic intrusion, rises over the upstream side of Wind River, where the river merges with the Columbia River.
[More]
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At the mouth of Wind River looking towards Wind Mountain.
Image taken October 25, 2003.
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RM 0.5 ... Downstream of the Power Lines ...
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Wind River downstream of the power lines.
Image taken February 15, 2013.
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RM 1.0 ... Carson ...
The small community of Carson, Washington, is located on the east bank of Carson Creek and the west bank of the Wind River, a little over one mile upslope from the Columbia River, at Columbia River Mile (RM) 154. The Carson area was settled in the late 1870s and early 1880s with sawmills being built using the waters of Carson Creek. Lewis and Clark passed by this area on October 30, 1805, calling the Wind River the "New Timbered river", after all the ash trees on its banks.
[More]
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Wind River, Washington, as seen from near Carson, Washington.
Looking down on the Wind River, from the road to Carson, Washington.
Image taken October 25, 2003.
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RM 1.0 ... Carson Hot Springs ...
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Sign, Carson Mineral Hot Springs Golf and Spa Resort, Carson, Washington.
Image taken February 15, 2013.
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Hotel St. Martin, Carson Hot Springs Resort, Carson, Washington.
Hotel St. Martin was built in 1901.
The bathhouse is the building on the right.
Image taken February 15, 2013.
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RM 2.0 ... Shipherd Falls ...
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Shipherd Falls is a tiered falls located at Wind River Mile (RM) 2.0, just northeast of Carson, Washington.
According to the "AmericanWhiteWater.org" website (2018):
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"This run throught the spectacular Wind River Canyon features some great rapids and a personality that changes with flows. At low summer flows you can have a fun evening running Shipherd Falls and at higher winter flows be prepeared for action-packed excitement and a mandatory portage of the falls."
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Penny Postcard: Wind River Falls, Washington.
Penny Postcard, Real Photo, Divided Back, "Wind River Falls, Shipherd's Hot Springs Hotel Co., Carson, Wash."
Published by Hicks ___ Co., Portland, Ore.
Date written on back - "August 24, 1910".
In the private collection of Lyn Topinka.
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RM 2.0 ... Shipherd's Hot Springs ...
Shipherds Hot Springs was located near Carson, Washington.
According to the "Sunday Oregonian", October 8, 1911:
"The Martins and the Shipherd Minerals Springs are within one mile of Carson, and the Government Springs are one mile away."
[More]
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Penny Postcard: Shipherd's Hot Springs Hotel, Carson, Washington.
Penny Postcard, Real Photo, Divided Back, "Shipherd's Hot Springs Hotel - Carson, Wash."
Card #148.
In the private collection of Lyn Topinka.
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RM 5.0 ... Conrad Lundy Jr. Bridge ("High Bridge") ...
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Locally known as the "High Bridge", the Conrad Lundy Jr. Bridge crosses the Wind River north of the community of Carson. The deck truss bridge was built in 1957, was designed by the C.M. Corkum Company, and is 598.1 feet long and 25.9 feet wide. The bridge sits 260 feet above the surface of the water surface. Conrad Lundy was the County Commissioner at the time of the bridge's construction.
The "High Bridge" is the 4th bridge to span the Wind River canyon north of Carson. The first bridge was built in 1890 and lasted two years. Next came a one-lane suspension bridge built in 1913.
The 1913 bridge was then replaced by a steel wire cable suspension bridge in 1925 which was in use until it was bypassed by the current bridge. The 1925 bridge was subsequently removed. In 2002 the Conrad Lundy Jr. Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (Architecture/Engineering, #02000326).
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Wind River from "High Bridge", Carson, Washington.
View from moving car. The Conrad Lundy Jr. Bridge sits 260 feet above the Wind River. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
Image taken February 15, 2013.
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RM 5.0 ... Wind River Canyon ...
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River Description:
"This run through the spectacular Wind River Canyon features some great rapids and a personality that changes with flows. At low summer flows you can have a fun evening running Shipherd Falls and at higher winter flows be prepared for action-packed excitement and a mandatory portage of the falls.
Shortly after the put-in you encounter High Bridge Rapid which is a fun class IV boulder garden and one of the longer drops on the run with lots of good eddies and slalom moves at moderate flows. Below this rapid the run settles in to class II and III pool-drop rapids. The next big drop is The Flume which is a great class IV rapid ending in a pool at the bottom. You can get around the main part of the rapid by portaging on the right. Just a few hundred yards downstream of The Flume you will encounter class V Beyond Limits at an obvious horizon line. This drop can be portaged on the left hand side. The line to run it is down the right but depending on the flow the rocks on the right back up the flow to create a nasty hydraulic at the base of the falls.
After Beyond Limits you are just about to Shipherd Falls and you will need to hop out on the fish ladder on river left. Shipherd Falls is a series of four drops that can be run at low summer flows. The problem with running them at higher flows is the dam at the bottom that was constructed to direct fish into the fish ladder creating a deadly hydraulic characteristic of lowhead dams. The state fisheries department does not look favorably on boaters portaging on the fish ladder, but their dam creates the hazard to navigation that requires a portage. If you are running the river during moderate to high flows and portaging down the fish ladder you will need to scramble up the cliff at the bottom on river left for a 25' huck and jump into the pool below the falls. This is necessary to safely clear the hydraulic at the base of the dam and would be extremely challenging during icy conditions.
From this point on it is a fairly easy run out to the take-out on river right."
Source:
American Whitewater ("americanwhitewater.org") website, 2018, "Wind - 4. High Bridge to Columbia River (Lower).
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Wind River downstream, from "High Bridge", Carson, Washington.
Image taken February 15, 2013.
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Wind River, upstream, from "High Bridge", Carson, Washington.
Note shadow of bridge structure.
Image taken February 15, 2013.
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"The Golden Age of Postcards" ...
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The early 1900s was the "Golden Age of Postcards", with the "Penny Postcard" being a popular way to send greetings to family and friends. Today the Penny Postcard has become a snapshot of history.
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From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...
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Clark, October 30, 1805 ...
Clark, April 13, 1806 ...
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