Bureau of Environmental Services description of the Slough - "Basin Focus: Columbia Slough"
brochure - "What is a Slough?"
Table - Estimated Riparian Wetland Habitat, Columbia River mile 12 to 145
Chart - Number of Great Blue Heron Nests in the Portland/Vancouver area, 1987
Map of Washington and Oregon
Large version of Joseph Myers Map of Portland and vicinity
William Clark's Map of the Wappato Valley
Lewis & Clark Archaeological Site Map
Plant Resources of the Chinook and Cowlitz Indians
William Clark's account from the Sandy River past Hayden Island, November 1805
The Oregon Treaty of 1846

What role do sloughs play in the Columbia Basin ecosystem? Is this a significant role? Why or why not?
Describe the geography of the Columbia Slough. What role does the slough play in the human geography of the Portland area?
What kinds of animal and plant life does the slough support?
What resources did native peoples on the Columbia floodplain use for subsistence?
What role did the slough play in human settlement in the Portland area?
How did different groups view the Columbia Slough? Native people? Lewis and Clark?
How did Oregon Territory come into the possession of the United States?

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Document and Images, 1918 -- "Closing the Columbia Slough"
A Glossary of Flood Control Terms compiled by the League of Women Voters, circa 1972
St. Johns Bridge Poem by Celia Burley
St. Johns Review - St. Johns Bridge Articles
Oregonian Ad recruiting workers - September 20, 1942
Oregonian Article, August 12, 1943 - "Celebration Marks Completion of Vanport City"
Excerpt from Vanport by Manly Maben - "Life in Vanport," courtesy of Oregon Historical Society
Vanport Resident's Handbook - courtesy of Oregon Historical Society
U.S. Department of Commerce Weather Bureau Reports, "Daily River Bulletin," May 20-July 9, 1948
Accounts of the Vanport Flood
President Truman speaks at the Civic Auditorium after the Vanport Flood

How did the Corps of Engineers propose changing the Columbia Slough?
What meaning did ending isolation on the North Portland Peninsula have for community members? How do you think that may or may not have affected views of the Columbia Slough?
What was the role of the Columbia Slough and nearby lands during World War II?
How did Vanport City fit into Columbia Slough communities?
What obstacles did Vanport residents face? What were some of the benefits of living in Vanport?
Compare Manly Maben's "Life at Vanport" with Ed Washington's Oral History recalling life at Vanport as a child.
How did the Corps of Engineers respond to the flood threat at Vanport?
What role did post-Vanport Flood efforts play in changing the geography of the Columbia Slough?
Has comprehensive river development prevented flooding on the Columbia? To what degree?
What are three positive and three negative impacts of comprehensive river development?
What measures have been taken to prevent flooding in slough communities? Do you think they are effective? Why or why not?