This ecoregion consists of oak and conifer 8foothills and is lower and drier than both the Oregon High Cascades and the Oregon Eastern Cascade Foothills. The Columbia River Gorge ecoregion consists of foothills, low mountains, plateaus, and valleys from 500 to 3,500 feet.

The land within this ecoregion is mostly privately owned, at least on the Washington side of the river and covers 563 square miles along the Columbia River corridor, including the lower reaches of the Deschutes River drainage.

Marine weather enters the region from the Pacific ocean via the Columbia River Gorge, moderating the otherwise continental climate. As a result, soil, climate, and vegetation share characteristics of both eastern and western Oregon. The region is characterized by Oregon white oak woodlands and ponderosa pine forests in the east and Douglas-fir and western hemlock forests in the west.

Some grasslands also occur. Understory plants include Idaho fescue, bluebunch wheatgrass, antelope bitterbrush, Oregon grape, hazel, and snowberry. Common land uses include forestry, recreation, grazing, rural residential development, orchards, and, in the valleys, grain and hay farming.

The Columbia River Gorge ecoregion includes sixteen endemic plant species (those that exist only within the Gorge) and over 150 rare plant species. Too, the Columbia Basin is rich with animal life.

The Columbia River Highway Scenic Byway is quite amazing, which in part is due to its incredible scenery and rich history, but also because of its the visionary engineering. Further, the route traverses an area of spectacular waterfalls, beautiful old architectural structures, and magnificent overlooks of the Columbia River Gorge; all of which have long given this highway the title of the King of Roads.

The Historic Columbia River Scenic Byway offers ever-shifting perspectives of the Gorge, including sweeping panoramas from 900 feet above the river. Hikers will delight in the many trails along the Byway, some of which lead to hidden waterfalls. The Columbia river gorge itself is about 80 miles long and drops from the Columbia plateau as much as 4,000 feet in several areas.

This highway was constructed in 1913 and at the time was considered one of the greatest engineering feats of the modern age. Its engineer, Samuel C. Lancaster, said that he did not want to mar what God had put here, and thereafter worked diligently to showcase the many waterfalls and beautiful spots along the route of the highway through the Columbia Gorge and created numerous historic landmarks along the route. Too, the Columbia River Highway is the first scenic highway in the U.S. to be named a National Historic Landmark.

The Geology of the gorge canyon includes the substrate of lava flows which were subsequently cut through by what geologist call the Missoula Floods, and which massive water flows would have create the towering cliffs of columnar basalt that make up the Gorge.

The Columbia river is the only sea-level cut through the Cascade Mountain Range that drains wide areas east of these mountain.

The Columbia River, after flowing westward across the Columbia Plateau, reaches it′s confluence with the Deschutes river, after which it flows for about fifteen mile before it comes to The Dalles, Oregon. From The Dalles, the Columbia river flows another eleven miles, first north and then northwest until the river enters the Columbia River Gorge. The Columbia river continues downstream into the gorge canyon and westward for about eighty miles until it reaches the western end of the gorge which is located not very far east of the metropolitan areas of Portland.

This water gap furnishes the only navigable route through the Oregon High Cascades and the only water connection between the Columbia River Plateau and the Pacific Ocean.

Thus, several paths were created through this unique water gap, including paths on both side of the river. In Washington, the highway is Washington State Route 14, which runs along the railroad on the Washington side of the gorge, now run by Amtrak.

On the Oregon side, currently, there are U.S. Route 30, Interstate 84, the Mount Hood scenic railroad, and the historic Columbia River Highway.

This water gap is also the route traveled by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805-1806. From about 1811-1840 the Oregon Trail was laid down by traders and fur trappers. It could only be traveled by horseback or on foot. By the year 1836, the first of the migrant train of wagons was put together. It started in Independence, Missouri and traveled a cleared trail that reached to Fort Hall, Idaho. The Oregon Trail which started in Missouri and covered 2,000 miles before ending in Oregon City, was the most popular way to get to Oregon Country from about 1843 through the 1870s.

Over the years since Lewis and Clark, there has been many other rail line companies on both sides of the river.

And they all went through the Columbia River Gorge!

The Columbia River, the Klamath River in northern California, the Pit River in northern California, and the Fraser River in southern British Columbia are the only four rivers connecting the watersheds on the east side of the Cascade Range to the Pacific Ocean. Each river has created a gorge through the Cascades. The Columbia River marks much of the state line between Oregon and Washington, and the wide range of elevation and precipitation makes it′s gorge quite diverse and dynamic.

This Columbia river gorge is a canyon on the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The canyon is as deep as 4,000 feet (1,200 m) and stretches for over 80 miles (130 km) as the river flows westward. The gorge is where this river has cut through the Cascade Mountain Range

The area of the Columbia river known as The Gorge holds federally protected status as a National Scenic Area (NSA) and thus it is called the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The NSA is managed by the Columbia River Gorge Commission and the US Forest Service.

The Gorge is a popular recreational destination for bicycling, camping, fishing, hiking, kayaking, nature viewing, picnicking, rafting, scenic driving, swimming, tubing, and windsurfing.

The Columbia River Gorge is also famous for not only its impressive landscape but also the plethora of about 77 waterfalls on the Oregon side alone. (See Below)

Historic Columbia River Highway, US 30

This morning, since I am changing from space A26 to space A34, I decide to make a five mile drive to Hood River to purchase some bottled spring water at the d-mart.

Once in Oregon, I drive west on IH 84 through The Dalles, then Hood River and get off the interstate at exit 56 and drive into Viento State Park, drive to site A26, back in and fill out the fee envelope for one night of camping, all before one this afternoon.

After leaving the d-mart, I drive east on IH 84 and just before the Sandy river, I stop at a w-mart for coffee, com and computer. Too, I study for the meeting today. Then, at nine-thirty, I connect to the Oak Harbor weekend meeting and I am encouraged greatly with the convention videos afterwards.

After the meeting, I pack out of the cafe, drive east on IH 84, enter the Columbia River Gorge NSA and in less than a half of an hour arrive at Viento state park. I enter the park, drive into the camping area and then pull into parking space number A16. Then, I plug in my electrical cord to the power pedestal, connect it to my electric connector and turn on the power strip to begin charging my batteries. Once everything is connected, I then fill out a permit to stay for the night and put on it the number from my park pass id. Once the permit is complete, I walk to the kiosks and drop the permit into the container.

Arriving at this time of the year, I am not able to find campground openings on the weekends, so I drive west to The Dalles, a city in Oregon for the weekend. While there I check online and find an opening at another Gorge campground and make reservations to camp from Sunday night through Friday morning.

Finally, I drive to then new campsite and occupy my space. It is located not far from the shower house and is surrounded by very large trees, which I hope will keep my space from getting too hot during my camping here.

To resupply my food and spring water, I drive back west on IH 84 to the d-mart in Hood River, Oregon and during that drive, I photograph some of the features in the Gorge as well as the sunglow over the Gorge.

After twelve days camping in the Columbia river gorge, I pack out and begin my journey to the coast. I journey first back into the gorge, then south through the Willamette river valley to Salem and then west through the South Yamhill river valley and the Grand Ronde, home of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, then over the Oregon Coastal Ranges and down to the Pacific Ocean. Once on the coast highway, US 101, I turn south and drive through several cities until arriving at a location to park for the night that I have to be not only free, but also without any bright city light pollution.

The one day journey totaled nearly two hundred miles, during which I stopped numerous times to take photos. Since the first part of my journey is in the gorge, I will include these photos here. One note about these photos is that due to the many fires that are ablaze in the western parts of the continent, many of these photos will appear hazy.