The Astoria-Megler Bridge. About the harbor

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "The Astoria-Megler Bridge. About the harbor"

Phyllis Gardner
5 years ago
Views:

The storia-megler ridge bout the harbor The olumbia River, the second-largest in North merica, empties into the Pacific Ocean just west of storia.

Just west of the city is the restored site of Lewis and lark s winter quarters, which they called Fort latsop.

Maybe he had second thoughts, for it was here that the orps of iscovery endured the wet, miserable winter of 0-6.

1 The storia-megler ridge bout the harbor The olumbia River, the second-largest in North merica, empties into the Pacific Ocean just west of storia. storia is the site of the first merican settlement west of the Rockies, and, until the Oregon Trail was opened in the s, the main jumping-off point for the Oregon ountry s interior. Just west of the city is the restored site of Lewis and lark s winter quarters, which they called Fort latsop. It was ertainly the most eligible Situation for our purposes of any in its neighbourhood, wrote William lark. Maybe he had second thoughts, for it was here that the orps of iscovery endured the wet, miserable winter of 0-6. the columbia river Rounding latsop Spit to enter the harbor, boaters will pass sprawling Fort Stevens, the only military base in the continental United States to be fired on by a foreign enemy since the War of. (The fort was shelled from a Japanese submarine in June,. The shells did no damage, and U.S. soldiers did not return fire.) little farther inland is the four-plus-mile-long storia-megler bridge, the longest of its type (for the curious, it s a threespan through-truss) in the world. The olumbia is the water highway between the Pacific Ocean and ports upstream all the way to Lewiston, Idaho. Therefore, storia is a busy commercial harbor. Gasoline, bulk minerals, automobiles, grain, logs, wood chips, and frozen fruits and vegetables all cross the olumbia s bar. ontainer ships, freighters, tankers, tugs and barges, military vessels, charter boats, and cruise ships come into and out of port.

2 6 oating in oregon coastal waters Hazardous areas. hinook spur and upper, middle, and lower Sand Island spurs. These are built on two staggered rows of pilings, and currents through them can be swift, knots or more. If your boat is disabled or if you maneuver in a way that puts you in contact with any of these spurs, you are at high risk. These areas have claimed even large boats. Stay well away from them, and if you are up-current, give them a particularly wide berth.. latsop Spit. n unpredictable area. uring flood currents and slacks, it may be relatively calm, with only a gentle swell breaking far in on the spit. Yet or minutes later, when the current has started to ebb, conditions can become extremely treacherous, with breakers extending far out toward the channel, past buoy #. flood tide can carry a boat onto latsop Spit. Stay north of the red buoys and be prepared to anchor. section of the outer end of the south jetty has broken away, leaving a barely submerged piece between the visible tip and buoy #SJ, which marks its western end. The broken piece can produce a dangerous rip current on the flood. o not cross the submerged jetty. Use extra caution in the area.. Jetty, southeast of ape isappointment. The ebbing current combined with the deflected river current can reach knots. oats headed into aker ay west channel during an ebb tide make little headway against the swift current and and risk being exposed to rough water or surf for long periods of time. Small craft should avoid the shallow, sandy area when heavy seas are running because of the surf that breaks on the beach. Look for the entrance, marked with daymarks one and two and with green and red lights.. Peacock Spit. Waves break from three directions and breakers are heavy at any stage of the tide. If you lose power on the bar during an ebb current, you risk being carried onto the spit or capsizing. Stay away from the north side of the green buoys. s you round the spit, give it at least ½ mile of clearance even if the water looks calm. Sneaker waves unusually large swells coming in from the sea can break ¼ to ½ mile outside the usual breaking point on the end of the north jetty.. Middle ground. This is a shallower area between the north jetty and the main ship channel that is subject to breaking seas when swells as small as four feet are present. reakers are wider and faster here than in other areas. onditions can change in minutes with the changing tide. Stay in the channel. 6 Soundings in Feet 9 R FI R S 6 Peacock Spit G Q G NN RNG R FI R.S R SJ 0 9 Pacific R 6 FI R S North Jetty 6 Ocean G FI 90 0s ft 6M R 0 6 F G S I R 0s 0 ft M F R 6ft 6 SN ISLN RNG 6 R OLRGS MR LIN 0.6 South Jetty Source: olumbia River (Map ) U. S. ept of ommerce Nautica

3 the columbia river K R Y Scale in Nautical Miles 0 ft FI G s ft M 6 TION reakers 6 FI s 6 ft M G FI G.S 6 SN I. FI G s ft M FI R.s ft M R FI G.S R 9 0 FI G s 6ft M FI G s ft M Q G ft 6 Iso G 6s 6ft 6 R FI R S 6 FI G s ft M FI G.s ft M FI R s ft 6M FI G 6s 6ft M LOWR SMON SHOL UPPR SMON SHOL R 0 FI R.S LTSOP SPIT ol Jetty Lagoon G FI G.S s ft M 6 0 N FI R 6s ft Pt. M 6 dams 9 R Hammond MRKR 9 G 6 SMON SNS FI s ft 6M FI G s ft M UP Iso R 6s ft Warrenton G FI G.S G 9 Q G FI R.s ft FI R s ft M F R 9ft F R 6ft 9 9 FI G s ft M Snags FI R 6s 6ft M G FI G 6S 66 O L U M e s d e m o n a S a n d WRNING: This chart is not to be used for navigation.onsult official charts. heck Local Notice to Mariners ( for updates to latest chart. NORTH 0 YOUNGS I 9 G TNSY POINT TURN & RNG Port of storia irport s FI R s 6ft FI G s ols Priv ft Priv Y R I V 9 9 Snags R N FI R.s 6ft M 6 TNK R 6 G M 6 F R ft G 9 Q G 9 F R ft STORI STK R 0 FI G s Priv 6 9 FI R.s Priv STOR OLUMN STPL 6 STORI RNG RG N FI Y S PRIV l harts nd d./ 0 6 MRKR RO Rot W&G Rough-weather advisories and information oast Guard air station at storia: (0) 6-6. oast Guard station at Ilwaco, W, for bar conditions: (60) 6-6; for emergencies only: (60) 6-. oast Guard radio: KP (6 khz), reports every hours or as weather conditions change. New rough-bar signs have been posted at Warrenton and Hammond marinas.

oating in oregon coastal waters What to do in storia and surroundings storia offers a wealth of scenic attractions, shops, restaurants, and historical sites within walking or shuttle distance of its

.-mile walking and bicycle path traces the waterfront between the West Mooring asin, just west of the storia-megler ridge, and the ast Mooring asin at the foot of Thirty-Sixth Street.

oaters at Hammond lso at the foot of Seventeenth Street is the olumbia River Maritime Museum, a treasure trove of exhibits and artifacts about Pacific oast shipping, including the early fur trade,

4 oating in oregon coastal waters What to do in storia and surroundings storia offers a wealth of scenic attractions, shops, restaurants, and historical sites within walking or shuttle distance of its two mooring basins..-mile walking and bicycle path traces the waterfront between the West Mooring asin, just west of the storia-megler ridge, and the ast Mooring asin at the foot of Thirty-Sixth Street. etween them is the Seventeenth Street Transient Float, which offers temporary moorage to visitors on a first-come, first-served basis. oaters at Hammond lso at the foot of Seventeenth Street is the olumbia River Maritime Museum, a treasure trove of exhibits and artifacts about Pacific oast shipping, including the early fur trade, fishing, navigation, lighthouses, and shipwrecks. Moored next to the museum is the historic lightship olumbia, open to visitors. Two oast Guard cutters, the Steadfast and the lert, are also stationed there. storia is a port of call for cruise liners on their way to and from laska, ritish olumbia, alifornia, and the Panama anal. When two or three of them come in at once and turn their passengers loose, it almost doubles the town s population for a day. Warrenton Marina In the summer months you can catch a shuttle to Fort latsop from the transit station at Ninth Street and Marine rive. Fort latsop, one of sites along the southern Washington northern Oregon coast that make up the Fort latsop National Historical Park, was the site of Lewis and lark s 0-06 sojourn. new replica of the fort, built with volunteer labor and dedicated late in 006, replaces the one that burned down in 00. The olumbia has spring and fall runs of chinook salmon and a winter run of steelhead. nglers also fish for rockfish, lingcod, perch, and flounder. Sturgeon inhabit the deeper holes upriver. There is a spring run of shad, and catfish, bass, and other warm-water species may be caught in sloughs off the main channel. Tying up at storia s ast Mooring asin

5 the columbia river storia area attractions Fort Stevens State Park, Historical Site & Military Museum storia-megler ridge Flavel House Maritime Museum & the Lightship olumbia Replica of U. S. ustoms house Visitor information oating facilities Hammond Marina ruising the olumbia estuary Warrenton Marina (Skipanon River) Scale in Miles Youngs ay Park 0 O L U M I R I V R NORTH West Mooring asin th St. Transient ock Hammond F G F ast Mooring asin YOUNGS Y STORI Warrenton G Pier 9 (private) Port of storia irport

Columbia River Navigation

Columbia River Navigation HISTORY COMMITTEE Pat Brodin John Carpita Bob Moorhead Columbia River Navigation Columbia River Discovery & Exploration Columbia Bar Shipwrecks Graveyard of the Pacific Columbia