WELCOME TO THE CATHLAPOTLE PLANKHOUSE ON THE RIDGEFIELD NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

On March 29, 2005 the doors to the Cathlapotle Plankhouse on Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge was officially opened!

Cathlapotle was one of the largest Chinookan villages encountered by Lewis and Clark, but today it is one of the few archaeological sites on the Lower Columbia River that has withstood the ravages of flooding, looting, and development.

 A decade of archaeological research -- the result of a partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Chinook Tribe, and Portland State University -- has produced a wealth of information about the Chinookan people who lived on the river long before Lewis and Clark first observed Cathlapotle in 1805.