Columbia & Snake Rivers (Portland to Clarkston)

Portland, Oregon’s largest city is located at the merging of the Williamette and Columbia Rivers. Two groups of indigenous Chinook peoples inhabited this area long before American pioneers started arriving in the 1800’s. Once the Oregon Trail, a 2,170 mile historic east–west, large-wheeled wagon route connecting Oregon to the Missouri River, opened in the 1830’s, large numbers of settlers started arriving. Portland’s original name was "Stumptown" because so many trees had been cut down to allow for development. Two men owned the land - Asa Lovejoy of Boston, Massachusetts and Francis W. Pettygrove of Portland, Maine. They decided to rename it, but disagreed about the new name. They wanted to name it after their respective hometowns, so they settled this disagreement with a coin toss, which Pettygrove won. Today, Portland is ranked the 26th most populous city in the United States, and is especially known for all its bridges, many of which are historic landmarks.