Dismissed in early years as a wasteland, the rolling open country that covers the interior parts of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho is today one of the richest farmlands in the nation. This work is the story of its transformation. Meinig traces all of the aspects of its development by combining geographic description with historical narrative

Columbia, Columbia River Valley Historical geography, Columbia, Vallée de la Géographie historique, Columbiaplateau, Historical geography, Historische Landeskunde, United States Columbia River Valley

Foreword: Ghost RegionA Retrospective PrefacePreface to the Original EditionAcknowledgmentsSetting: Landscapes, Seasons, and People, ca. 1800Entry: By East and By NorthCompetition: By Land and by SeaMonopoly: London Rules the ColumbiaMatrix: American Visions and VenturesMissions: Protestants and PriestsPreparation: Clearing, Organizing, and Evaluating the LandColonization: Gold, Grass, and GrainStrategy: Settlers and Railroads, 1870-90Conquest: Some Pattersn, Methods and Ideas, 1870-90Empire: Town and Country, ca. 1890Elaboration: Some Patterns and methodsInquiry: The Farmer and the Scientist, ca. 1890-1910Culmination: The Great Columbia Plain, ca. 1910Appendix: Populations and Facilities of Tows, 1890 and 1910 (Table 2)BibliographyIndex

Originally published: 1968. (The Emil and Kathleen Sick lecture-book series in western history and biography)

Originally published: 1968. (The Emil and Kathleen Sick lecture-book series in western history and biography)