Historic Hood River
Columbia River Flood of 1948
5-31-2011
Notes
This weekend was the 63rd anniversary of the Columbia River flood that wiped away Vanport, near Portland. Here’s what the same event looked like upstream at Hood River. The camera is positioned next to the railroad tracks, as everything to the north is underwater. This view we posted earlier gives another perspective of the same flood. In fact, it looks down on the spot where this photo was taken.
Columbia waters are not quite this high now, but the river is running at a volume we haven’t seen for about a decade. Seeing all this wood accumulating near the tracks is a good reminder to sailors: there’s plenty of debris in the current, so be careful out there.
l.e.
There is some higher ground out of the water. Is that in the long stretch of buildings you see in the previous picture? Or is it just out of the picture?
Was that land naturally high or had that been filled in because of the Bonneville backwater?
spinsur
It looks like part of a mill, with the boom for loading or unloading logs. Oregon Lumber Company owned a lot of this land. The 1937 Bonneville maps and photos don't show these buildings, as near as I can tell. I think that patch of trees and high ground would be about where the museum is now. (?) And the guard shack from earlier is out of the picture, or under water!