Salmon Creek and the Columbia River Wetlands

When Lewis and Clark came through the area just downstream from the junction of the Willamette and the Columbia they were struck by the extensive wetlands and the almost overwhelming presence of waterfowl. Both complained about the noise levels of the birds that kept them awake all night. Settlers eventually drained a lot of the wetlands for farming once dams were built along the upper Columbia River to control the annual floods but prior to that the wetlands extended from Salmon Creek shown here to the hills 6 miles in the distance on the Oregon side of the river.

Looking west along Salmon Creek in Vancouver offers a glimpse of the wetland area along the Columbia River in the distance. There are no trails along this stretch of Salmon Creek and access is limited since all of the lands along the creek are privately owned and thoroughly posted. I have paddled up this creek in the past although views are somewhat impeded by the banks of the creek. It is a favorite place for a lot of birds coming south from Canada including geese and swans. All of the white specks on the pond over on the left are Tundra Swans and there is another pond behind this scene on the right that is literally covered with Canada Geese.

This may have been the last gasp for fall colors as we have had several days of stiff winds coming out of the Gorge that have stripped most trees of the remaining leaves.



C&C always welcome.

That's quite the cool view Alan. And thanks for the history, it's always interesting to learn.

I like how the creek curves through this image.

JimFox said:

That's quite the cool view Alan. And thanks for the history, it's always interesting to learn.

I like how the creek curves through this image.

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Thanks Jim - flying has offered me some of the best views I have ever had of this area. It would be a birders paradise if there was some way to access the area but there are no public views of these ponds from the ground.

Quite a view from this perspective. Looks like the fall colors are still around.

Jameel Hyder said:

Quite a view from this perspective. Looks like the fall colors are still around.

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Thanks Jameel - its fun to finally be able to see this area. Just over a mile from my house (on foot) where I have lived for almost 25 years and I have never been able to really see this area until getting a drone. I have paddled a canoe up into this area a few times but you can't really see what the wetland really looks like when you are confined to the main channel.

We have had high 20's with strong winds for a couple of days and when I went up to see what might be left of the color this afternoon all I could see was gray branches along the edges of the floodplain. Fall has become Fell