CogKnoSys

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Physical

Cowlitz County, Washington

Cowlitz County is a county in southwestern Washington, formed in 1854, with Kelso as its county seat.

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The idea

Cowlitz County is a county in the southwestern part of Washington, on the Columbia River. Its county seat is Kelso, but at the 2020 census its most populous city was Longview. A county seat is the town where a county's government is based. The whole county forms the Longview metropolitan area, which is also part of the larger Portland-Vancouver-Salem area.

The name comes from the Cowlitz Indian term Cow-e-liske, which means either "river of shifting sands" or "capturing the medicine spirit." Before Europeans arrived, many Native American tribes lived in the area, and the Cowlitz tribe was the largest. They were drawn to the region by its plentiful salmon.

The county covers 1,166 square miles and sits against the Cascade Mountains. Several of its major rivers start in that range, including the Cowlitz, Kalama, Lewis and Toutle. Nearly every town that sprang up in the late 1800s began around logging or a lumber mill. In the late 1920s, the Weyerhaeuser and Long-Bell lumber companies built processing plants there. At the time, they were the largest and second-largest such plants in the world.

Check yourself

Question 1 of 3

Which city has been the county seat of Cowlitz County since 1922?

Pick one. The first pick counts.

Composition

what it's made of

  • Kelso — The county seat, a role it has held since 1922.
  • Longview — The most populous city at the 2020 census, and the center of the Longview metropolitan area.
  • Rivers — The Columbia, Cowlitz, Coweeman, Kalama, Lewis and Toutle rivers.
  • Protected lands — Parts of Gifford Pinchot National Forest and Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.
  • Timber industry — Logging and lumber mills, which shaped nearly every early town.

Connection

how it relates

Under Lower Columbia Counties

In place

  1. Kelso, Washingtonstrength 80 of 100

    Kelso has been the county seat of Cowlitz County since 1922.

  2. Longview, Washingtonstrength 80 of 100

    At the 2020 census, Longview was the most populous city in Cowlitz County.

  3. Cowlitz Riverstrength 70 of 100

    The Cowlitz River is one of the county's major rivers that begin in the Cascade Mountains.

  4. Mount St. Helensstrength 60 of 100

    Access routes to Mount St. Helens run through Cowlitz County, to the west of the mountain.

  5. Lewis and Clark Bridgestrength 60 of 100

    The Lewis and Clark Bridge links Longview, in Cowlitz County, with Rainier, Oregon.

Change

how and why it evolves

Past
Washington's new territorial government created Cowlitz County from part of Clark County, and Governor Isaac Stevens signed it into law on April 24, 1854.
Now
At the 2020 census, the county had 110,730 people.
Next
The county will likely keep balancing its forest-based jobs with other kinds of work as the region around it grows.

Knowledge you can walk. Read the idea, then step up, across or down.

Cowlitz County, Washington

Cowlitz County is a county in southwestern Washington, formed in 1854, with Kelso as its county seat.

See it on the map

Learn, discuss, create, buy or invest

The idea

Cowlitz County is a county in the southwestern part of Washington, on the Columbia River. Its county seat is Kelso, but at the 2020 census its most populous city was Longview. A county seat is the town where a county's government is based. The whole county forms the Longview metropolitan area, which is also part of the larger Portland-Vancouver-Salem area.

The name comes from the Cowlitz Indian term Cow-e-liske, which means either "river of shifting sands" or "capturing the medicine spirit." Before Europeans arrived, many Native American tribes lived in the area, and the Cowlitz tribe was the largest. They were drawn to the region by its plentiful salmon.

The county covers 1,166 square miles and sits against the Cascade Mountains. Several of its major rivers start in that range, including the Cowlitz, Kalama, Lewis and Toutle. Nearly every town that sprang up in the late 1800s began around logging or a lumber mill. In the late 1920s, the Weyerhaeuser and Long-Bell lumber companies built processing plants there. At the time, they were the largest and second-largest such plants in the world.

Check yourself

3 quick questions, instant feedback.