The Columbia River - Government Cove, Oregon

Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later"
"Government Cove, Oregon"

Includes ... Government Cove ... Herman Lake ...

Image, 2009, Government Cove, Oregon, click to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Government Cove, Oregon. Image taken from moving car. Image taken April 4, 2009.

Government Cove ...

Government Cove, Oregon, is a bay located at Columbia River Mile (RM) 151, and is located upstream of Cascade Locks and Herman Creek, and downstream of the now-vanished community of Wyeth. Goverment Cove is a result of the waters of the Bonneville Reservoir inundating Herman Lake and other lowlands along the Columbia River. In 1975 the U.S. Board of Geographic Names made "Government Cove" the official designation for this bay.

Government Cove Geology ...

According to Tolan and Beeson (1984), Government Cove, along with Shellrock Mountain, Oregon, and Wind Mountain, Washington, is a microdioritic intrusion. Fragments of Columbia River basalt (xenoliths) have been found in almost all of these intrusives, indicating they are younger than the Columbia River basalt (specifically, Grande Ronde Basalt).

"Most geologists who have studied these intrusions believe that magma from them reached the surface and formed volcanic edifices that were subsequently removed by erosion." [Tolan and Beeson, 1984]

From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...

Clark, ...

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^*River Miles [RM] are approximate, in statute miles, and were determined from USGS topo maps, obtained from NOAA nautical charts, or obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website, 2003

Sources: McArthur, L.A., and McArthur, L.L., 2003, Oregon Geographic Names, Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland; Tolan, T.L., Beeson, M.H., and Vogt, B.F., 1984, Exploring the Neogene History of the Columbia River: Discussion and Geologic Field Trip Guide to the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon Geology, vol.46, no.8, August 1984, and vol.46, no.9, September 1984, Published by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries; U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) website, 2009.

All Lewis and Clark quotations from Gary Moulton editions of the Lewis and Clark Journals, University of Nebraska Press, all attempts have been made to type the quotations exactly as in the Moulton editions, however typing errors introduced by this web author cannot be ruled out; location interpretation from variety of sources, including this website author.