| This view is from a roadside memorial that commemorates the upstream 
      end of the natural navigable river (prior to construction of the dams) near 
      the western end of the Columbia River Gorge near Portland. A roadside commemorative display is located at this site. Under the direction 
      of the British Admiralty, Captain George Vancouver was sent to explore the 
      Pacific Coast of North America. Vancouver sent a ship under command of William Broughton to explore the navigable extent of the Columbia 
      River. The ship reached this point of the river in late October of 1792. 
    The Lewis and Clark Expedition reached this point in late fall of 1805 (Lang, [2010]). |