The collection consists primarily of letters written by Henry Larcom Abbot (1831-1927) to his parents in 1855, journals he kept during his work on the Pacific Railroad Survey in California and Oregon in 1855-1856, and various field notes and celestial observations he took for the survey.

Microfilm of a diary kept by John Boit, 1794-1796, concerning a voyage around the world on the sloop Union.

Collection consists largely of photocopies of articles by Robert Brown published in various scientific journals, 1868-1870, on botany, medicinal plants, birds, geology and Native American use of medicinal plants in the Pacific Northwest. Also included is a photocopy of a manuscript letter from Archibald Menzies to Robert Brown.

Papers of Amos Burg (1901-1986), including diaries, travel logs, notes, correspondence, published materials, and ephemera. Burg was born in Portland, Oregon, and lived there until after World War II, when he moved to Alaska. He traveled on multiple rivers in North America, and was a writer, photographer and filmmaker who worked for the National Geographic Society, the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Erpi Classroom films, and later the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Photostat manuscript, "Journals of the Travels of John Carver," recounting an English soldier's explorations of the areas of Wisconsin and Minnesota from 1766 to 1768, with observations on Native Americans living in those areas.

Collection of documents, originals and copies, relating to the ship Columbia (also known as the Columbia Rediviva) and its journeys to the Pacific Northwest in the late 18th century. The ship was owned by Joseph Barrell out of Boston and most famously captained by Robert Gray. Materials include logs, journals, letters, financial records, cargo lists, and drawings of the ship.

Collection consists of manuscript and typescript copy extracts from Oregon newspapers, 1862-1896, regarding early exploration of the Crater Lake, Oregon area; manuscript and typescript copies of letters to the editor, 1874-1933, giving first-hand accounts of explorations of Crater Lake, Oregon, by William K. Kuykendall, E. W. Hammond, Orson A. Stearns, etc.

Collection includes two engravings from "Atlas du Voyage de la Pérouse," part of "Voyage de La Pérouse autour du Monde," a compilation of findings of the Jean-François de Galaup La Pérouse expedition. Titles are in French. The engravings are Plate No. 53, "Tombeaux de la baie de Castries," and Plate No. 54, "Costumes des habitans de la baie de Castries."

Manuscript excerpt from a logbook by Samuel C. Damon describing a journey down the Columbia River and through the Pacific Northwest. Damon was editor of "The Friend," a serial devoted to temperance and mariners, from 1845 to 1884.

Collection consists of photocopied articles published in the the London Journal of Botany from 1845-1847, concerning Charles (Karl) A. Geyer's investigations of plant life in Missouri and the Oregon Territory.