Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum

Frommer's Review

Focusing on the Gorge's early Native American inhabitants and the development of the area by white settlers, this museum is your single best introduction to the Columbia Gorge. Exhibits contain historical photographs by Edward Curtis and others that illustrate the story of portage companies and paddle-wheelers that once operated along this stretch of the Columbia River. A 37-foot-high replica of a 19th-century fish wheel gives an understanding of how salmon runs have been threatened in the past and the present. Displays also frankly discuss other problems that the coming of settlers brought to this area. A slide program tells the history of the formation of the Gorge. When it's not cloudy, the center has an awesome view of the south side of the Gorge.

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