Champoeg (pronounced Sham-poo-ee) creek runs into the Willamette River just south of Portland, Oregon. It was here that the first provisional government in the NorthWest of what is now the U.S. was founded in the 1840s. The town that was built on this spot was inundated when the Willamette over flowed its banks in 1861 and waters were 45 feet (13.7 meters) above its normal flow.
