(Photo courtesy of Washington State Digital Archives.)

For many in the Northwest, a summer highlight is watching the hydros race on the Columbia River in the Tri-Cities in late July or on Lake Washington in Seattle a week later during Seafair.

With the 48th running of the Columbia Cup races taking place this weekend at Columbia Park in the Tri-Cities, we checked the Digital Archives for a photo of an early boat race there. Sure enough, there was one.

This photo, taken sometime before 1970, shows people at Sacajawea State Park, where the Columbia and Snake rivers meet, watching the racing boats speed by. The shot is part of the Digital Archives’ State Library Photograph Collection, 1851-1990.