Skamania County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,036. The county seat and largest incorporated city is Stevenson, although the Carson River Valley CDP is more populous. Skamania County is included in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Etymology
The county was founded in 1854 and derives its name from the Cascades Chinook word sk'mániak, meaning 'swift waters'.
County beginnings
The area delineated by the future Washington state boundary began to be colonized at the start of the nineteenth century, both by Americans and British subjects. However, the majority of British exploration and interest in the land was due to the fur trade, whereas American settlers were principally seeking land for agriculture and cattle raising. The Treaty of 1818 provided for the region to be an Anglo-American condominium. During this period, the future Washington Territory was divided into two administrative zones: Clarke County (now Clark County) and Lewis County (made official in 1845).
The condominium was unwieldy and led to continual argument, and occasional conflict. The status of the Washington area was settled in 1846, when the Oregon Treaty ceded the land south of North latitude 49 degrees to American control.
On March 9, 1854, Skamania County was split from the original Clarke County and stretched east to the Rocky Mountains in present-day Montana. Walla Walla County was split from the portions of Skamania County east of the Deschutes River on April 24. The county lost its eastern edge during the creation of Klickitat County in 1861. Fort Cascades, built to protect the Columbia River, served as an early county seat, but the county seat has been in Stevenson since 1893.
20th century to present day
Skamania County is also known for enacting what has been described as the "Bigfoot Ordinance", passed by the Board of County Commissioners at its meeting of April 1, 1969, and published twice in the Skamania County Pioneer, the newspaper of highest circulation in the county, as required by law. The ordinance forbids the slaying of any "nocturnal primate mammal variously described as an ape-like creature or a sub-species of Homo sapiens ... generally and commonly known as a 'Sasquatch', 'Yeti', 'Bigfoot', or 'Giant Hairy ape'", subject to a maximum penalty of a $10,000 fine and five years imprisonment. Although its passage coincided with April Fool's Day, Ordinance 69-01 was real, was amended in 1984, and has not been repealed. Its purposes included protection of residents and visitors from in the county from a very real concern, "an influx of scientific investigators as well as casual hunters, many armed with lethal weapons", who had been attracted to the area by reported sightings of a creature.
Mt. St. Helens, which is located in Skamania County, erupted in 1980.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.7%, is water. 90% of Skamania is forested and 80% is a part of Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The highest elevation in the county is , on the slopes of Mount Adams, although prior to its eruption, Mount Saint Helens was the highest point at .
Geographic features
- Cascade Mountains
- Columbia River
- Mount St. Helens
- Indian Heaven
Major highways
- 20px State Route 14
- Wind River Highway
Adjacent counties
- Lewis County - north
- Yakima County - northeast
- Klickitat County - east
- Hood River County, Oregon - south
- Multnomah County, Oregon - southwest
- Clark County - west
- Cowlitz County - west