Tenasillahe Island is an island in the

Columbia River Estuary The Columbia River Estuary is situated on the Oregon–Washington border and the Pacific Coast of the United States. It was traditionally inhabited by the Chinook Native Americans and discovered by settlers in 1788. The Estuary plays host t ...

portion of the Columbia River in

Clatsop County, Oregon Clatsop County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,072. The county seat is Astoria. The county is named for the Clatsop tribe of Native Americans, who lived along the coast ...

. It is separated from the mainland and the unincorporated community of Clifton, Oregon by the Clifton Channel, and from nearby Welch Island by the Red Slough. The island was visited by the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

, and Tenasillahe and Welch were known as the "Marshy Islands". The entire island is part of the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbian White-tailed Deer.

Etymology

The name "Tenasillahe Island" is tautological, in that "Tenasillahe" means "island" in the Chinook language.

References

Islands of the Columbia River in Oregon Landforms of Clatsop County, Oregon Uninhabited islands of Oregon {{US-island-stub