At this site, Lewis and Clark found what they were looking for: the point where the Columbia River meets the majestic Pacific Ocean. Their journey’s endpoint is where Confluence’s work began, with an installation that draws together the site’s bay side and ocean side, interweaving the stories of the Corps of Discovery expedition and the Chinook people in a single, steadily unfolding experience.

Visit the site to find a restored native landscape that integrates artist Maya Lin’s artwork with the site’s shifting cultural and ecological history. Run your hands along the smooth surface of a fish-cleaning table formed from a single block of native basalt and inscribed with a Chinook creation story. Follow a path of crushed oyster shells inland from the coastal forest, and read the text of a Chinook song of praise along the way. Encounter a group of five cedar driftwood columns surrounding a cedar tree trunk that existed before Lewis and Clark arrived.

About Confluence:

Confluence connects you to the history, living cultures, and ecology of the Columbia River system through Indigenous voices. We are a community-supported nonprofit that works through six art landscapes, educational programs, and public gatherings in collaboration with northwest tribes, communities, and the celebrated artist Maya Lin. Confluence began as a response to the Lewis and Clark bicentennial, to tell a more inclusive story of Lewis and Clark. In 2001 Maya Lin was asked by tribal leaders to design art sites along the river. Since then five art sites have been built and Confluence offers an array of programming along the Columbia River system.