NCW Libraries

"The story of the land in the Northwest flows from the cataclysmic ice-age floods. So it only follows that the stories of the people in this terrain are inextricably linked to the aftereffects of that great deluge. These are the genesis stories of a region. Included are the controversy over the provenance and ownership of a meteor that fell to earth in rural Oregon; the mystery of the aurora borealis as observed by 18th-century explorer David Thompson;...

Indian inhabitants laid out the basic travel routes in central Washington's Grand Coulee country probably 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. In the early 1800s, the semi-nomadic Sinkiuse and other Native Americans continued to use these routes through the spectacular coulees. Following in their footsteps came a host of white explorers and frontiersmen - at first in a trickle, then in greater numbers by mid-century. Forgotten Trails is a compilation of the...

Diana Hottell moved to the Methow Valley in 1972, thereby taking on the most engrossing endeavor of her life. Being totally unprepared for the Methow was perhaps an advantage. When she began writing feature stories for the Methow Valley News, she wrote with an augmented appreciation for the lives of those she interviewed. She observed, "This book is a quiet read for times when we need to remember that the human race still possesses at least a few...

A collection of stories and photographs dating back to 1889, when the Moores and Courtneys first arrived on upper Lake Chelan.

Thompson (1770-1857) was a fur trader, explorer, and cartographer who documented his efforts on behalf of the North West Company to find good trade routes across the Canadian Rockies. His journals also reveal his interest in mapping the Pacific watershed north of California and provide a detailed contemporary picture of the fur business during its greatest expansion. Includes an introduction, extensive notes and details of Thompson's manuscript maps,...

Noted historians from the United States and Canada explore society, culture, and change in the resource-laden Pacific Northwest. Essays examine Spanish exploration of the Northern coast, traditional American Indian religion and worldview, the long-term relationship of a fragile Canadian union with its powerful southern neighbor, unique political and constitutional foundations, World War II black and white immigration, growing up Japanese-American...