Columbia River

Columbia River rises on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia, and, after flowing wdth an irregular, generally southwest course, flows west and then north-west, forming for some distance the boundary between Oregon and Washington states, falls into the Pacific, having Pacific City in Washington on the north side of the estuary, and Astoria in Oregon, on the south. Its bar and many rapids render navigation difficult, though these difficulties in some measure are surmounted by the means of short railways which make the portage. The Columbia is chiefly noted for the abundance of its salmon, which are largely tinned and exported.