1906 Map of Blalock Island

About this map

The Columbia River serves as the dominant artery of this 1906 landscape, carving through a region defined by dramatic basalt ridges and developing rail infrastructure. Early riverfront settlements like Castle Rock and Paterson appear alongside the expansive Blalock Island, which sits in a reach of the river before modern hydroelectric projects altered the shoreline. To the south, the terrain transitions into a vast plateau of canyons and volcanic buttes, including Ella Butte and Dalreed Butte. Human activity is concentrated along the river corridor and the inland Willow Creek valley, where the towns of Cecil and Morgan are established along early travel routes. The presence of the Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Co and the Spokane Portland and Seattle line highlights the era's transition from river-based transport to a robust rail economy connecting the interior to the coast.