Kalama is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, on the Columbia River in the southwest corner of the state. It sits along Interstate 5 between Portland, Oregon, and the Puget Sound, and its population is roughly 3,000. The town occupies a narrow riverfront plain where the Kalama River meets the Columbia, with forested hills rising behind it. Kalama's founding is tied directly to the railroads. In the early 1870s, Northern Pacific Railway scouts chose the site as the terminus of the new transcontinental line and its headquarters, purchasing 700 acres in 1870. The town boomed as a railhead, but when the Northern Pacific completed its line to Tacoma in 1873 and moved its headquarters there, Kalama's fortunes shifted, and the population briefly fell to fewer than 100 before the community rebuilt around the port and timber industries. Today the Port of Kalama anchors a working waterfront, handling cargo and industrial activity along the Columbia. The city has also cultivated a recreation and tourism identity, with a marina, amphitheater, marine trail, parks, and a noted McMenamins hotel and rooftop bar overlooking the river. The Kalama School District serves local students, and the community is known as a filming location and a stop for travelers exploring the Columbia River corridor. For residents, the appeal is a small river town with a real working waterfront, convenient Interstate 5 access, and a distinct sense of place along the Columbia. Fishing, boating, and kayaking on the Columbia and Kalama rivers are part of everyday life here, and the town's riverfront setting offers views across the water toward the forested hills of the Northwest.