I'm sure this tower on the Washington side of the Columbia River is no mystery to many people, but I really don't know what it's used for. It looks like a lifeguard stand, but this is no swimming beach. Below the tower is a rocky drop-off to cold water filled with sturgeon, salmon, and strong currents.
The tower has something to do with navigation, and I could not tell you what that is. If you know, please leave a comment or send e-mail!
I forgot to take a close-up of the sign, so I enlarged the small one and tweaked the levels. It says:U.S. Government Property
NO
TRESPASSING
Report Violations to:
U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers
Navigation Division
Portland District
Interestingly, on the board to the left of the sign, someone who could almost spell wrote graffiti that says, "Astoria Rescue Mision." Perhaps it's a note to the needy that help is on the other side of the bridge.
3 comments:
its called a range marker.without knowing the orientation it's difficult to ascertain what range it is marking..the absence of a bright orange mark on it leads one to believe it is no longer relevant to navigation-but, there used to be a lotta tugs towing logs down the north channel...it might have also served the Corp dredges working the ship channel before all the fancy GPS satelite stuff replaced point to point nav. and radar...I'll go take a look one of these days..being there would make it easy to figure out or even a looking at chart of the river would explain it..it's probably something to do with Knappton/Deep River/Grey's Bay
My first thought was 'Baywatch'! LOL!
Thanks for the info Anon. Pretty fascinating stuff here.
I doubt many people swim in that channel. I am guessing the water is pretty cold.
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