11 May, 1792 Columbia River was discovered

On the 11th of May, 1792 Robert Gray, captain of Massachusetts General Trading Company first discovered the mouth of a previously unknown river.

It is known that the ship "Columbia" sailed from Alaska to the south along the U.S. coast. The captain ordered to stay 47 parallels and steer the ship right on the bay he saw afar, where Americans have discovered the mouth of one of the largest rivers of the New World, which flows into the Pacific Ocean.

It was decided to call the river in honor of the ship. The length of Colombia is 2250 km. The map shows that the river crosses the states of Oregon and Washington and the Canadian province.

 The power of Colombia flow is the third on the continent, so it possible to produce electricity. If one looks on modern map of the region, he will see 14 plants in Canada and the United States, built on this river.

 History tells us that the first Europeans to raft a long this river were members of Lewis and Clark's expedition of 1805-1807. The first person who rafted through the whole river from source to mouth, and examined its pool was the cartographer David Thompson.