Washington
Washington State Southwest Region
Southwest Washington state is Lewis and Clark territory, a land rich in
American heritage. It was here that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
concluded their 8,000-mile exploration, arriving at the West Coast in the
autumn of 1805. Interpretive markers trace the explorers' last 100 miles to
the Pacific Ocean.
Known for fertile estuaries and the Willapa National Wildlife Reserve,
Southwest Washington is characterized by small towns and century-old
landmarks. Meriwether Lewis's notes refer to this region as the most
desirable location for a settlement west of the Rocky Mountains.
The region is also home to the lower end of the dramatic
Columbia River Gorge, a protected scenic area known for its delicate
ecology. The Columbia River curves through Southwestern Washington before
the river ends its 1,200-mile journey at the Pacific Ocean. The vibrant city
of Vancouver, Washington's fourth-largest
metropolis, overlooks the Columbia, adjacent to Portland, Oregon.
And this region recognizes the accomplishments of yet another discoverer,
the merchant explorer Captain Robert Gray, who discovered the Columbia River
13 years before Lewis and Clark's expedition. In the city of
Aberdeen, visitors can see a replica of Captain Gray's brig vessel, the
Lady Washington.
History buffs can explore this region with a driving tour that traces the
last 70 miles of Lewis's and Clark's expedition to the Pacific Coast. The
tour begins at the intersection of I-5 and Highway 4 and concludes at the
Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Ft. Canby State Park, overlooking the
mouth of the Columbia River, where Robert Grey had arrived more than 200
years earlier. Traveling north by car takes the visitor towards Gray's
Harbor and the city of Aberdeen, also known as the gateway to the
Olympic Peninsula.
What
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