Lewis & Clark in Montana
Launch of an Expedition
In 1804, Thomas Jefferson sent the "Corps of Discovery", led by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, to find the rumored "River of the West" and to survey
the lands outlined in the Louisiana Purchase.
Explorers and politicians had long speculated that there may be a "Northwest Passage" - a transcontinental water route
linking the Pacific Ocean to the Mississippi River system, and thus connecting Pacific and Atlantic trade routes.
Rivers were the chief paths for transportation and trade at the time.
President Jefferson pushed hard to secure the Louisiana Purchase to expand American settlement and trade.
America's size doubled overnight with the closing of this
$15 million land purchase from France.
Lewis & Clark Arrive in Montana
Lewis & Clark and the Corps of Discovery camped along a fork in the Missouri River near the future site of Fort Union on April 25, 1805.
Lewis and Clark hoped they were nearing the Pacific, though they their journey would take them many miles further. The group rested and
celebrated their arrival at the confluence of two large rivers - the Yellowstone and the Missouri.
Expedition journals recorded this place at the joining of two rivers as having excellent possibility as a center of trade.
Pushing west into what is now the State of Montana, the expedition entered the land of the Blackfoot Indian tribe.
Discovery of the Northwest Passage was not the only priority for Lewis and Clark. Communications with Native American tribes,
a search for suitable
sites to establish forts and trading posts, and a recording of the land's plants, animals, and scenic resources were all
plans for the Corp of Discovery. Lewis and Clark accomplished
most of these tasks within the region that now comprises the State of Montana.
A Wild Montana
Today, the State of Montana landscape is fairly similar to that which Lewis & Clark explored.
Montana is still a land of wild and incredible scenery, impressive mountain ranges, wide river valleys, and lakes and forests
filled with wildlife.
Numerous landmarks of the Lewis and Clark expedition can be visited along Montana's roadways.
- contains info from the State of Montana
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