STARS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

[HostDave]

Recently, we announced that the American Queen Steamboat Company would be expanding our presence by adding voyages on the Columbia and Snake Rivers in the Pacific Northwest beginning in April of 2014 with the debut of the American Empress, a modern riverboat built in 2002 with a decidedly historical flair. Stretching 360 feet and carrying 223 guests in seven stateroom categories, the American Empress will be the largest and most elegant vessel on the rivers of the Pacific Northwest. She will offer 9-day voyages between Portland, Oregon and Clarkston, Washington with ports of call in historic towns such as Astoria, Stevenson, The Dalles and Sacajawea State Park.

By doubling our fleet to two riverboats, we can offer an entirely new cruising region. It might seem logical to have added the American Empress to the rivers of the Heartland considering the overwhelming popularity of the American Queen’s voyages on the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. However, the chance to open up a new portion of the United States to the classic American Queen Steamboat Company style of travel was far too tempting. Judging from the interest in these new voyages, it was also entirely appropriate. While the Heartland embodies the pioneer spirit, the Pacific Northwest exemplifies the spirit of exploration that grew the boundaries of our country all the way to the Pacific Ocean thanks to the trailblazing efforts of Lewis & Clark and their faithful Native American guide, Sacajawea.

While life on the Mississippi River has been immortalized by Mark Twain, no single author plays such a dominant role on the Columbia River. Though the Mississippi has been the subject of much discussion and fun facts (the volume of water flowing down the Mississippi River is as much as 700,000 cubic feet per second), the Columbia River is not as well-known. In upcoming blogs as we near the introduction of the American Empress we’ll talk more about the destinations along the way but in this week’s blog, we wanted to provide an overview of just what makes this river so spectacular that we’re dedicating our newest riverboat to sailing its waters.

The Columbia River stands alone in the Pacific Northwest as the largest in the region although many people don’t realize that it actually begins in British Columbia, Canada high up in the Rocky Mountains. It is also one of only a handful of rivers in North America that has a significant northward flow; it travels northwest before heading south into Washington and then turning west to form the border with Oregon before reaching the Pacific Ocean. The river itself stretches for more than 1,200 miles, although the navigable portion for larger riverboats such as the American Empress is generally limited to the westward flowing section between Clarkston and Portland. The Columbia River is large (its drainage area covers an area as big as the entire country of France) and it carries such a huge volume of water than it ranks as the fourth largest in the United States. Interestingly, its biggest tributary, the Snake River, is almost 1,100 miles long or almost as long as the river it feeds into (we’ll save the Snake River for a future blog).

When one thinks of mighty dams and hydroelectric power, one imagines Hoover Dam and the Colorado River as being the epicenter of this form of energy but it is actually the Columbia River that lays claim to being the center of hydroelectric power generation. Sights such as the mighty Bonneville Dam will be featured on American Empress shore excursions to provide guests with awe-inspiring insight into this natural and clean power source. For insight of a different kind, guests can learn about the Hanford nuclear site where plutonium was manufactured for the Manhattan Project which culminated in the atomic bombs dropped on Japan to end World War II.

The scenery along the Columbia River is dramatic, to say the least. The Columbia River Gorge towers far above the edges of the river and is a testament to the active geology and catastrophic events that formed the river we know today. Near the end of the last Ice Age, what is now the Columbia River was periodically inundated with water. Ice dams formed at Glacial Lake Missoula and when they broke, they unleashed walls of water known as the Missoula Floods. The floods were so massive that each one carried a volume of water greater than 10 times the water currently contained in all the world’s rivers. Though they ended about 13,000 years ago, the floods scoured the Pacific Northwest and carved deep gorges and channels while simultaneously depositing huge volumes of rich Montana soil in the fertile Willamette Valley. In fact, they region’s active grape-growing economy and numerous vineyards are firmly rooted in Montana’s run-off.

As guests aboard the American Empress travel along the Columbia River, naturalists and American Queen Steamboat Company’s Riverlorians will explain the geologic wonders. Traveling in the incredible comfort and sophistication of the American Empress while learning about the travails of Lewis & Clark and the monumental forces that shaped the landscape is sure to be a vacation unlike any other. We invite you to join us for our inaugural season in 2014.