The Great Columbia Plain: A Historical Geography, 1805-1910

by D.W. Meinig

Dismissed in early years as a wasteland, the rolling open country that covers the interior parts of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho is today one of the richest farmlands in the nation. This work is the story of its transformation. Meinig traces all of the aspects of its development by combining geographic description with historical narrative.

Genres: History

598 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1995

About the author

Donald William Meinig was an American geographer who made influential contributions to historical, regional, and cultural geography, and who served for decades as Maxwell Research Professor of Geography at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Educated at Georgetown University and the University of Washington, he began his academic career at the University of Utah before holding a Fulbright position at the University of Adelaide in 1958, later joining Syracuse University in 1960, where he remained until his retirement in 2004. At Syracuse, he chaired the geography department, trained more than twenty doctoral students, and helped shape the Maxwell School. His scholarship reflected both western American and national themes, producing pioneering studies on the Mormon cultural region, Texas, and the Southwest, while his most ambitious work was the four-volume The Shaping of America, published over nearly two decades, offering a sweeping interpretation of the nation’s geographic development. He also collaborated with his former student John Garver on thematic regional maps for the National Geographic Society, reaching millions of readers. Meinig’s honors included Fulbright and Guggenheim fellowships, the Charles P. Daly Medal of the American Geographical Society, and election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the British Academy. His work combined rigorous scholarship with literary sensibility, leaving a lasting impact on geography.

Reviews

[Steven Shook · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive historical geography of the Great Columbia Plain and the associated regions within it (Palouse, Big Bend, Walla Walla, Camas Prairie, etc.). Greater emphasis is placed on industry (fur, mining, agriculture, grazing) and economic development rather than the people that initiated the economic development of the region.

Despite the fact the Great Columbia Plain reached into northeastern Oregon and into the panhandle of Idaho, the bulk of the book focuses on that portion of the plain embraced by the State of Washington. For instance, there is almost no coverage provided concerning the historical geography of the Palouse Ridge area and the adjacent Camas Prairie.