Think Out Loud

Oregon documentary highlights Columbia River bar’s jetty system and its importance to the Pacific Northwest

By Idrissa Gaye (OPB)
Aug. 13, 2026 1 p.m.

Broadcast: Thursday Aug. 13

The Columbia River bar is a fierce, yet beautiful body of water, spanning across Oregon and Washington. With over 2000 shipwrecks reported since 1792, it is also known as “The Graveyard of the Pacific.”

In 1855, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began the construction of a jetty system, as a means to tame the dangerous ocean currents from the Pacific.

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Oregon filmmakers Brett Eichenberger and Jill Remensynder’s new documentary “Taming the Mouth, chronicles this history and how it reverberates today on this vital waterway in our region.

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