The Confluence Project is a series of outdoor installations and interpretive artworks located in public parks along the Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

 and its tributaries in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

s of Washington and Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

. Works underway may include both building and landscape designs as well as integrated artwork. The project draws on the region's history, including Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 myths and entries from the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Lewis and Clark Expedition

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...

 journals, to "evoke a landscape and a way of life submerged in time and memory."

Artist and architect Maya Lin

Maya Lin

Maya Ying Lin is an American artist who is known for her work in sculpture and landscape art. She is the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.-Personal life:...

, the central figure in the Confluence Project, is designing installations that follow the path of Lewis and Clark through the Columbia River Basin. Lin is collaborating with landscape architects to restore natural environments, and each artwork will draw text from Lewis and Clark's journals or traditions grounded in Native American cultures.

Sites

Washington

• Cape Disappointment State Park, Ilwaco, Washington
  Ilwaco, Washington
  Ilwaco is a city in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 950 at the 2000 census and decreased to 936 at the 2010 census.-History:...
  
   (Completed 2006)
• Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge
  Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge
  The Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Complex is a wildlife preserve, one of the National Wildlife Refuges operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service...
  
  , Vancouver, Washington
  Vancouver, Washington
  Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
  
   (In planning stages)
• Vancouver Land Bridge at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
  Fort Vancouver
  Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
  
  , Vancouver, Washington
  Vancouver, Washington
  Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
  
   (Completed 2008)
• Sacajawea State Park, Pasco, Washington
  Pasco, Washington
  Pasco is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Washington, United States.Pasco is one of three cities that make up the Tri-Cities region of the state of Washington...
  
   (Completed 2010)
• Chief Timothy Park, Clarkston, Washington
  Clarkston, Washington
  Clarkston is a city in Asotin County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Lewiston ID-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,229 in 2010....
  
   (Scheduled for completion in Spring 2011)

Oregon

• Sandy River Delta
  Sandy River (Oregon)
  The Sandy River is a tributary of the Columbia River in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Measured by a United States Geological Survey gauge downstream of the Sandy's confluence with the Bull Run River, from the mouth, the river's average discharge is . The maximum daily recorded flow...
  
   (Completed 2008)
• Celilo Falls
  Celilo Falls
  Celilo Falls was a tribal fishing area on the Columbia River, just east of the Cascade Mountains, on what is today the border between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington...
  
  (Scheduled for completion in Fall 2012)