Examination and Survey of Lower Willamette River and Columbia Rivers, Below Portland, Oreg.

Improving Portland’s commercial maritime navigation in the early 20th century.

“This is an improvement of great importance, not only to Portland but to the entire country tributary to the Columbia River.” – pg. 2.

This detailed collection of correspondence, financial data, and maps was compiled by members of the War Department and published by the Government Printing Office as part of a 1901 Congressional volume. The Army Corps of Engineers was tasked with surveying the Columbia and Willamette Rivers for the feasibility of a 25 ft. shipping channel (the current operation depth then ranged from 22-24 ft.) from Portland to the coast. The contents begin with an introduction by the Secretary of War, Elihu Root, which outlines the subsequent reports by U.S. Army Engineers Major W.L. Fisk and Capt. William C. Langfitt. They performed surveys along the Lower Willamette and Columbia Rivers, respectively, in 1899 and 1900.

Their results, described in the accompanying text, are presented across eleven fold-out maps. Each sheet presents a segment of the river between Portland Harbor to the Columbia’s estuary, noting depth soundings, navigational hazards, geographic features, and various coastal details. Today, the navigation channels in the Columbia and Willamette Rivers are over 40 feet deep!

Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers