Lewis and Clark's Columbia River
Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later"
"Sandy Island"
Includes ... Sandy Island ...
Image, 2003, Columbia River towards Sandy Island, from Kalama, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Columbia River and Sandy Island, from Kalama, Washington. Image taken November 9, 2003.


Sandy Island ...
Sandy Island lies in the middle of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) _____. On the Washington shore is Kalama and the Kalama River. On the Oregon shore is the town of Goble.

Early Sandy Island ...
Lewis and Clark pass by Sandy Island on November 5, 1805, and on March 28, 1806, but make no mention of the island. Their route map [Moulton, Vol.1, Map#80] does show a small island across from their March 27, 1806 campsite near Goble, Oregon.

In 1841, Charles Wilkes, of the U.S. Exploring Expedition called the Island "Sandy Island". Because Wilkes gave his own names to the majority of the features he passed, it could be assumed that the name "Sandy Island" might have been in use for this island for quite some time.

The 1856 cadastral survey (tax survey) for T6N R2W shows "Coffin Rock" in Section 2, the "Gobal" homestead in Section 12, and "Sandy Isd." upstream of Goble in the middle of the Columbia River.

The 1888 nautical chart "Columbia River, Sheet No.4, Grim's Island to Kalama", has Sandy Island labeled as "Sandy I.", and shows it directly across from the Washington town of "Kalama". Just downstream on the Oregon side is "Gobles Pt.".

Sandy Island in 1942 ...

From the 1942 NOAA "Coast Pilot":

"Kalama River is used chiefly at its mouth by smelt fishermen. Kalama, on the eastern bank, is an occasional stop for ocean-going vessels to pick up lumber. There is a ferry between Kalama, and Goble on the western bank. Thie channel on the western and southern sides of Sandy Island was good for 14-foot draft in 1938, and was used by tow boats with log rafts and barges."


Views ...

Image, 2005, Sandy Island from Goble Landing docks, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Downstream tip of Sandy Island, as seen from Goble Landing docks, Oregon. Image taken February 19, 2005.
Image, 2003, Sandy Island, from Kalama, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Sandy Island, from Kalama, Washington. Image taken November 9, 2003.


From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...

Clark, March 27, 1806 ...



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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:
  • NOAA Office of Coast Survey website, 2005, 2006;
  • U.S. Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office (GLO) Records database, 2005;


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.
/Regions/Places/sandy_island.html
September 2008