Lewis county is one of the largest counties in western Washington,
having an area of 2,593 square miles of territory and about 40,000
people. It occupies a large part of the drainage basins of two
large rivers, the Cowlitz and Chehalis--one emptying its waters
into the Columbia river and the other into Grays harbor. It reaches
from the peaks of the Cascades 100 miles toward the ocean, but
is cut off 30 miles from the coast, and is about 30 miles wide.
Mount Rainier is just north of its extreme eastern portion and
about one-fourth of the county is within the Rainier forest reserve.