• 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?

Next Page: Survival on the Slough