Bachelor Island is an island in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. It is located in the Columbia River near Ridgefield, just south of the mouth of the Lewis River and a few miles north of the mouth of the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...

. The island stretches from Columbia

river mile A river mile is a measure of distance in miles along a river from its mouth. River mile numbers begin at zero and increase further upstream. The corresponding metric unit using kilometers is the river kilometer. They are analogous to vehicle roa ...

. The northern end of

Sauvie Island Sauvie Island, in the U.S. state of Oregon, originally Wapato Island or Wappatoo Island, is the largest island along the Columbia River, at , and one of the largest river islands in the United States. It lies approximately ten miles northwest o ...

lies across the Columbia from Bachelor Island. Bachelor Island is separated from the mainland by Bachelor Island Slough and Lake River. Bachelor Island Slough separates from the Columbia River at Bachelor Point and the southern end of Bachelor Island. The slough joins Lake River, which empties into the Columbia River at the northern end of Bachelor Island. Most of Bachelor Island is part of the

Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge, one of the national wildlife refuges operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, located in the westernmost part of Clark County, Washington. The refuge protects more than o ...

History

Lewis and Clark first called the island "Green Bryor Isd," when they passed it while traveled downriver in 1805. They changed the name to "Quathlahpotle Island" in 1806, during their return voyage upriver. The name honored a large village, "Quathlahpotle", of 14

wooden houses Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin tha ...

and 900 inhabitants on the mainland nearby. In 1841

Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842). During the American Civil War (1861–1865), he commanded ' during the ...

of the

United States Exploring Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

named the island "Pasainks Island". Bachelor Island Slough he called "Piscou Creek". It was sometimes called Columbia Island during the 19th century. In 1849 or 1850 three bachelors took donation claims and settled on the island, giving rise to its present name, Bachelor Island.

References

Landforms of Clark County, Washington Islands of the Columbia River in Washington (state) {{ClarkCountyWA-geo-stub

History

See also

References