View source for Clatsop Plains

{{Short description|Area of wetlands and sand dunes in Oregon, US}}
{{Infobox landform
| water             = 
| name              = Clatsop Plains
| other_name        = 
| type              = [[Wetlands]]
| photo             = Astoria_Regional_Airport.jpg
| photo_width       = 180
| photo_alt         = Aerial view of the northern Clatsop Plains
| photo_caption     = Aerial view of the northern Clatsop Plains
| map               = Oregon
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| location          = [[Clatsop County, Oregon|Clatsop County]], [[Oregon]]
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| age               = Quaternary
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The '''Clatsop Plains''' are an area of [[wetlands]] and [[sand dune]]s between the [[Northern Oregon Coast Range]] and [[Pacific Ocean]] in northwestern [[Oregon]] in the [[United States]]. They stretch from near the mouth of the [[Columbia River]] south to the vicinity of [[Tillamook Head]] near [[Seaside, Oregon|Seaside]]. The plains are drained by several coastal rivers include the [[Skipanon River]] and the [[Necanicum River]], which flow parallel to the coast and empty into the Columbia at [[Youngs Bay]] near [[Astoria, Oregon|Astoria]] and into the Pacific Ocean near [[Seaside, Oregon|Seaside]] respectively.  At the time, the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] recorded a different river draining the plains which entered the Pacific near the current day [[Camp Rilea]] Armed Forces Training Center.  Research, 200 years later in 2005, seems to have confirmed this by locating an old [[river channel]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Searching for the Lost Village: An 1805 Lewis and Clark Site along the Oregon Coast|year=2005|publisher=University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire|location=|url=https://people.uwec.edu/jolhm/lewis_clark/presentations/index.html|accessdate = April 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=A GROUND PENETRATING RADAR INVESTIGATION OF AN 1805 LEWIS AND CLARK SITE, OREGON|year=2005|publisher=University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire|location=|url=http://people.uwec.edu/jolhm/lewis_clark/presentations/GPR%20-%20AAG2004.pdf|accessdate=April 28, 2014|archive-date=May 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530163342/http://people.uwec.edu/jolhm/lewis_clark/presentations/GPR%20-%20AAG2004.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Annotated image 4
<!-- this template is used to just show the Plains part of the original image-->
| image = Oregon Senate District 16.pdf
| alt = Clatsop Plains Map
| image-width = 1500
| width = 130
| height = 390
| image-left = -168
| image-top = -160
| align = left
| annotations = 
{{Annotation|92|60|Astoria →}}
{{Annotation|25|343|Tillamook}}
{{Annotation|25|351|Head}}
| annot-font-size = 8
| caption = The Clatsop Plains
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}}
The plains are named for the [[Clatsop]] tribe of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] who lived in the area at the time of the arrival of [[Europe]]ans and [[European Americans]] by ship at the end of the 18th century and by land at the beginning of the 19th century.

These plains were developed from sand filling in the shoreline during the late [[Quaternary]] age. The northern portion is a result of the creation of the south [[jetty]] on the Columbia River built in 1885. Within the plain are several lakes including [[Cullaby Lake|Cullaby]], Sunset (Neacoxie), [[Smith Lake (Clastop County, Oregon)|Smith]], and [[Coffenbury Lake|Coffenbury]].  The latter three are filled by [[groundwater]] and not local streams or rivers.<ref name=geo>Orr, Elizabeth and William Orr, and Ewart Baldwin. ''Geology of Oregon''. Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 1992, 4th edition.</ref>

The first white settlement of Clatsop Plains was by two [[Methodist]] [[missionaries]], the first missionaries to arrive in Clatsop County.  [[Solomon H. Smith]] who with Rev. [[Joseph H. Frost]] established a [[Clatsop Mission|Methodist mission]] there in 1841 and built homes for their families on Clatsop Plains.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chronology of Clatsop County History - The First 400 Years From the 1500s to 1900 |publisher=Clatsop County Historical Society |location= |url=http://cumtux.org/default.asp?pageid=36&deptid=1 |access-date=2016-04-22 |archive-date=2012-02-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207035631/http://www.cumtux.org/default.asp?pageid=36&deptid=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The first [[Presbyterianism#United States|Presbyterian church]] was founded in 1846. Robert Morrison donated 10 acres for the church grounds, and then two more for a cemetery. The first church was built in 1850, but was destroyed by a [[windstorm]] in 1853. It was the first Protestant church built west of the [[Rocky Mountains]]. A new church was built and served until 1927, when the current building replaced it. The church is located east of Camp Rilea. The Pioneer cemetery established in 1846, making it the oldest in the county, is the burial place for many early settlers.

A community called "Clatsop Plains" was established and incorporated in 1870, primarily for the purpose of restricting cattle grazing along the sea ridge. This grazing was destroying the ridge grass and plants that prevented sand from blowing onto the nearby farms. As incorporated originally, "Clatsop Plains" extended from the Skipanon River to Seaside. An actual town eventually came into being about a mile north of Seaside, and was later absorbed into [[Gearhart, Oregon|Gearhart]]. However, its early proximity to Seaside is probably why Seaside itself was sometimes referred to Clatsop Plains.<ref>{{cite web|title=Clatsop County Reference Information - The History of Seaside, Oregon|publisher=clatsop.com|location=|url=http://www.clatsop.com/ccri/seaside/seaside-history-pg12.html|access-date=2016-04-22|archive-date=2016-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603230300/http://www.clatsop.com/ccri/seaside/seaside-history-pg12.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The coastal grassy areas of Clatsop Plains was home to the [[endangered]] [[Oregon silverspot]] butterfly. Re-establishment efforts are continuing.  (''Speyeria zerene hippolyta'').<ref name=FWS>{{cite web |url= http://www.fws.gov/ecos/ajax/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=I01A |title= Species Profile: Oregon Silverspot butterfly (Speyeria zerene hippolyta) |publisher= [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]] |accessdate = April 28, 2014}}</ref>

A stretch of {{jct|country=USA|US|101}}, the [[U.S. Route 101 in Oregon|Oregon Coast Highway]], runs through most of the length of Clatsop Plains.
{{Clear}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Speyeria zerene hippolyta.jpg|Oregon silverspot butterfly
File:Coffenbury Lake (Clatsop County, Oregon scenic images) (clatDA0097a).jpg|Coffenbury Lake (named for an early settler, George W. Coffenberry/Coffinberry)
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160501014150/http://www.oregon.gov/OMD/CampRilea/Pages/RangeStatus.aspx Camp Rilea]

{{Oregon Early History}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Wetlands of Oregon]]
[[Category:Oregon Coast]]
[[Category:Dunes of the United States]]
[[Category:Landforms of Clatsop County, Oregon]]