National Archives at Seattle

02/04/2026

Congress has restored funding of appropriated activities, and the National Archives has begun to restore normal operations. We are working to open to the public as soon as possible. Please check our website for updates.

02/02/2026

We’re sorry, but we will not be able to post updates to our social media channels during the government shutdown. All National Archives events– virtual or in person– are canceled until further notice. We will be unable to reply to messages or emails until the government reopens.

11/13/2025

Congress has restored funding of appropriated activities, and the National Archives has begun to restore normal operations. We are working to open to the public as soon as possible. Please check archives.gov for updates.

10/01/2025

We’re sorry, but we will not be able to post updates to our social media channels during the government shutdown. All National Archives events–virtual or in person–are canceled until further notice. We will be unable to reply to messages or emails until the government reopens.

09/05/2025

This remarkable photograph of a petroglyph on the Columbia River was taken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on April 12, 1956. It is part of the Historic Photographs series (1891-1982). Many other indigenous artworks were submerged when the Dalles Dam was constructed between 1952 and 1957. This individual rock was moved from its original location and is now on display in Columbia Hills State Park on the Washington side of the Columbia River. The primary figure on the rock has been identified as a river spirit.

Record Group 77, Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers

Catalog entry: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5585783

08/25/2025

On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act, which created the National Parks Service (NPS). The goal of the department was to manage all national parks, most national monuments and as well as other various natural, historical, and recreational properties. National Park service records at the National Archives (NARA) consist of correspondence, photographs, maps and other records relating to the planning, administration and use of our national parks. For more information on the history, locations and types of natural parks and national monuments please visit the National Park Service website: https://www.nps.gov/index.htm
The highlighted picture is from the Oregon Caves national Monument and Preserve. In 1909. President William Howard Taft declared the Oregon Caves a National Monument, ensuring the site's preservation for future generations. The Oregon Caves is a solutional cave, with passages totaling about 15,000 feet (4,600 m), formed in marble. The parent rock was originally limestone that metamorphosed to marble during the geologic processes that created the Klamath Mountains, including the Siskiyous. Although the limestone formed about 190 million years ago, the cave itself is no older than a few million years. In honor of National Park Founder’s Day, this is a photograph from the National Park Service (Record Group 79) of the Garden of the Gods inside of the Oregon Cave system
Catalog entry: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/298936

08/14/2025

As temperatures get hotter here in the Pacific Northwest we thought a picture of snow in August may help cool things down.

In August of 1973 the Noatak River in Alaska saw an early snow fall. The Noatak River is one of the longest designated Wild Rivers in Alaska. It leads into one of the largest mountain reigned river basins and is one of the longest designated rivers in Alaska. This river flows generally west for 425 miles from the glaciers of Mount Igikpak to the Chukchi Sea.

The origins of the name is from the Inuit word “Nunulak” or “Noatak” for a hill or mountain completely surrounded by glacial ice also known as “lonely mountain". Nunulak could mean “new land” or “belonging to the land”.

This image comes from the Alaska Task Force Photographs, 1972-1976 from Record Group 79, National Park Service.

Catalog Link: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/42214122

07/28/2025

Summertime is here and the skies above the PNW have been so clear! There are so many things up in the sky that we don’t normally get to see with all our clouds. Take a look at our series of Information Releases Relating to Unidentified Flying Object, 1986 (NAID 733667) which documents a UFO sighting that occurred over Alaska.

Have any of you noticed anything above us? Meteors, asteroids, or even a UFO?

Enjoy stargazing while the skies are clear and the weather so beautiful!

Catalog Link: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/733667

07/22/2025

Happy National Tattoo day!

These images are from RG 129 Bureau of Prisons, McNeil Island, Prisoner Identification Photographs. Pictured is Walter R Logsdon with a description of his numerous tattoos.

Catalog Link: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/210408132?objectPage=103

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/210408132?objectPage=104

07/03/2025

Hope everyone has a wonderful Fourth of July holiday and see you all back in our research rooms next week!

National Archives research rooms will be closed Friday, July 4, for Independence Day. Regular hours will resume on Monday, July 7.

Image at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/445647863

06/12/2025

Otters are carnivorous mammals in the Mustelidae family and Lutrinae subfamily. Two of these species call the Pacific Northwest home, the Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris) and the North American River otter (Lontra canadensis). Sea Otters thrive in nearshore environments and while they are capable of diving to depths of at least 45 meters, they prefer coastal waters up to 30 meters deep. Sea Otters diet consists of mostly marine invertebrates such as sea urchins, various mollusks and crustaceans, and some species of fish.

The North American River Otter can be found throughout most of Canada and along the coasts of the United States, including inland waterways in areas that consist of vegetation, rock piles, and sufficient coverage. Fish is a favored food among these otters, but they also consume various amphibians, freshwater clams, mussels, snails, small turtles and crayfish.

The image highlighted here is from our series of Historical Photograph files 1906-1994 in the Records of the Forest Service (RG 95). This series consists of photographs taken or collected by Forest Service personnel throughout Alaska. The subjects covered in these photographs include forest views; logging operations; lakes and rivers; glaciers; Alaskan villages; trails and camps; personnel; roadhouses; Healy River coal fields; homesteads and gardens; recreation sites; wildlife including seals, bears, and moose; and commercial fishing and Forest Service boats.

Catalog link: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/405174174?objectPage=3

05/16/2025

May 18th marks the 45th anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens. The National Archives at Seattle holds several records related to this historic event, but on this date, we wanted to share one of our lesser-known items that encapsulates the shock and astonishment felt by many in the Pacific Northwest on that fateful day: a diary entry describing an eyewitness account of the eruption.

The account comes from Judy Caughlan, a park ranger at Fort Vancouver National Park. On the day of the eruption, she was nearly 80 miles from Mount St. Helens at home with her family in Vancouver, Washington. Despite that distance, they had a clear view of the event, which she described in her diary two days later.

“May 18th was perhaps the most exciting day in my life. I saw the Mountain exploding into the air. In a desperate attempt I tried to paint a watercolor, make sure my 2 children were painting their picture and trying to keep my cool. Charles ran out of film and we desperately searched for film in the local community. None to be found for thirty miles around… I saw a Mt. explode…. The Queen’s Birthday did not seem very important to me as I realized that nature will orchestrating [sic] a drama no human being could match.”

This incredible entry is part of the Mount Saint Helens Historical Collection, 1980-1995, from Record Group 95, Records of the U.S. Forest Service – Region 6.

Catalog Link: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/176167943