Lewis and Clark's Columbia River
Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later"
"Tunnel Point and Onion Rock, Oregon"
Includes ... Tunnel Point ... Onion Rock ...
Image, 2005, Tunnel Point and Onion Rock, from Crown Point, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Tunnel Point and Onion Rock, as seen from Crown Point, Oregon. View from Vista House, Crown Point, Oregon. Image taken March 6, 2005.


Tunnel Point ...
Tunnel Point is located on the Oregon side of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 127.5. A pulloff at the point can be reached westbound on Interstate 84. Great views of Reed Island, Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Point Vancouver, Cape Horn, Chanticleer Point, Crown Point and Vista House, Rooster Rock, Angels Rest and Devils Rest, and Dalton Point are to be had.

Onion Rock ...
(to come)

Early Tunnel Point ...
Neither Lewis and Clark's draft map nor their route map show any indication of Tunnel Point. The route map [Moulton, vol.1, map#79] indicates an island in the vicinity of Reed Island and the Steigerwald Lake area is labeled "plains". Point Vancouver, across from Tunnel Point, is depicted but not named.

In 1841 Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Exploring Expedition charts Tunnel Point as "Square Rock" on the map "Sheet No.6 of Columbia River". The map also names Rooster Rock as the "Obelisk" and Reed Island as "Vancouver Island". Point Vancouver is shown but not named.

The 1948 NOAA Chart #6156 "Vancouver to Bonneville" shows "Tunnel Point" and the rock just upstream as "Onion Rock". Rooster Rock is "Rooster Rock" and Point Vancouver is "Point Vancouver".


The "Tunnel" at Tunnel Point ...
The "tunnel" of Tunnel Point" refers to the railway tunnel located on the south side of Interstate 84 at the point. Trying to photograph it while doing 70 on the freeway is an interesting exercise.

Image, 2006, Tunnel at Tunnel Point, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Tunnel at Tunnel Point, Oregon, west portal. View shot from over shoulder from inside car driving west on Interstate 84. Image taken September 16, 2006.


Views from Tunnel Point ...

Image, 2004, Columbia Gorge as seen from Tunnel Point, I-84, Portland, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Columbia River Gorge looking upstream, as seen from Tunnel Point. Image taken October 10, 2004.
Image, 2004, Columbia Gorge as seen from Tunnel Point, I-84, Portland, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Columbia River Gorge looking upstream, as seen from Tunnel Point. Image taken October 10, 2004.
Image, 2005, Columbia Gorge as seen from Tunnel Point, I-84, Portland, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Columbia River Gorge looking upstream, as seen from Tunnel Point. Image taken November 19, 2005.
Image, 2004, Angels Rest and Devils Rest, Oregon, from Tunnel Point, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Angels Rest (left ridge) and Devils Rest (cone on top), as seen from Tunnel Point, Oregon. Angels Rest is Columbia River basalt and lies uphill from Dalton Point, Oregon. Devils Rest is a Boring Lava cone. Image taken October 10, 2004.
Image, 2004, Crown Point, Oregon, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Crown Point as seen from Tunnel Point, Oregon. View from Tunnel Point Viewpoint, Interstate 84, Oregon. Image taken October 10, 2004.
Image, 2006, Crown Point, Oregon, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Crown Point (left) and Chanticleer Point (right), as seen from Tunnel Point, Oregon. View from Tunnel Point Viewpoint, Interstate 84, Oregon. Image taken September 23, 2006.


From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...

Clark, November 3, 1805 ...



Columbia River GorgeReturn to
Menu		  





*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, 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.
/Regions/Places/tunnel_point.html
June 2009