ASTORIA, a city and a port of entry, the county seat of Clatsop county, Oregon, U.S.A., on the south bank of the Co lumbia river, which is about 6m. wide here, 1 om. from the open ocean, and about 75m. in a direct line N.W. of Portland. It is at the intersection of the Columbia and the Roosevelt highways; is served by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle railway, by inter city bus lines, and by river and coastwise steamers, and is a port of call for vessels operating between north Pacific ports. The pop ulation was 14,027 in 1020, of whom 4,509 were foreign born, and was 10,349 in 193o.
Federal engineering has deepened the channel at the entrance to the Columbia river to a minimum of 46f t. at mean low tide. The port of Astoria, a municipal corporation embracing all Clat sop county, has constructed and operates modern deep-water ter minals, with warehouses and facilities for handling grain, flour, lumber, coal and other bulk freight. The total water-borne com merce in 1927, including rafted timbers, amounted to tons. The principal industrial establishments are salmon can neries, creameries, lumber mills and flour mills. The value of the yearly pack of Royal Chinook salmon from the Columbia river is estimated at $6,000,000. Tourist traffic brings into the city, it is estimated, about $1,000,000 a year. On Coxcomb hill stands a column 12 5f t. high, on which a spiral frieze, 53 5 f t. in length, depicts the early history of Oregon.
Astoria is the oldest white settlement in the northwest. It was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1811 as a fur-trading post. From 1813 to 1818 the settlement was in the hands of the British. The first saw-mill was erected in 1851, and the salmon-packing industry dates from 1866. The city was chartered in 1876. On Jan. 1 1923 a city-manager form of government was adopted.