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1908 Map of Blalock Island

Name: 1908 Topographic Map of Blalock Island
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1908
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1908

About this map

The Columbia River serves as the dominant axis for this early 20th-century landscape, separating the high plateaus of Oregon from the ridges of Washington. At its center lies Blalock Island, flanked by the navigational challenge of Canoe Encampment Rapids. The northern bank is defined by the Portland and Seattle Ry following the base of Paterson Ridge, while the southern shore carries the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company.

South of the river, the land transitions into a vast system of canyons and buttes, including Galgotha Butte and Ella Butte. Long-distance travel is evidenced by the Emigrant Road, which connects isolated rural points like Ella and Cecil. For genealogists, the presence of the Douglas Morgan P.O. and early riverfront settlements like Irrigon and Paterson provides a look at the postal and transport networks established before the era of major dam construction changed the river's character.