Photos


The Columbia River Bar, where sediment is deposited as water from the Columbia River flows into the ocean, is one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the world due to rough and unpredictable waves and the ever-shifting riverbed. Over 2000 ships have sunk in this area and it was the site of a marine rescue station prior to the Coast Guard existing. The remains of the ship, Peter Iredale, which ran ashore in 1906, still sits prominently on one of the beaches.

I visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum, which has harrowing tales of rescues and tragedies as well as a retired lightship that you can go aboard. A lightship is a ship that acts as a beacon to mark hazards for other ships when there is no lighthouse in the area.