A black-and-white photo. The caption written on it in white ink says "Ice blockade, Columbia River. Arlington, Ore. Jan. 19, 1909. Foto by, M.E. Shurte." A fishing or tug boat and two row boats are hemmed in by the ice on the river. Butted up against the larger boat is a raft or dock, with a man standing on it leaning over a railing. The smaller boats appear to be tied to this raft or dock. Although there is a little water in the foreground, the river appears to be mostly covered with ice. Low bluffs line the far shore.
