Pillar Rock is a pillar-like monolith in the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

, near its mouth in the state of Washington. Originally rising 75-100 feet, it was

dynamited Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germany, and patented in 1867. It rapidly ga ...

and reduced in height to about 25 feet above the water to serve as a

navigational aid Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

and light. The Lewis and Clark Expedition camped twice near the rock, on November 7 and November 25, 1805. Pillar Rock Wa

The name "Pillar Rock" also refers to a small village on the river's north shore, opposite the rock. As recently as 1851, the village was home to a small group of the

Kathlamet The Kathlamet people are a tribe of Native American people with a historic homeland along the Columbia River in what is today southwestern Washington state. The Kathlamet people originally spoke the Kathlamet language, a dialect of the Chinookan l ...

band of Chinook Indians under the headship of a man named Tolillicum.

References

Landforms of Wahkiakum County, Washington Populated places in Wahkiakum County, Washington {{WahkiakumCountyWA-geo-stub