THE LE

WIS

AND C

LARK

EXPEDIT

ION

BY:

GRETA, A

LICIA

, AND JA

COB T.

WHAT WERE THEY DOING?

To learn about the Louisiana Territory

Jefferson organized an expedition/journey of exploration

Jefferson asked Lewis and Clark to learn about trade in the Northwest, to make maps, and to record plants and animals they saw

The explorers had to climb high mountains and carry their boats around waterfalls

WHEN DID THE EXPEDITION START AND END? The Lewis and Clark expedition began on May 14, 1804

when the Corps of Discovery left Camp Wood River in Illinois. In February 1803,

Clark often remained on the 55 foot keelboat or the two pirogues making charts of the course and maps while Lewis was on land studying the rocks, animals, soils and plants. They returned to St Louis on September 23, 1806.

Congress had approved its funding after President Thomas Jefferson urged them to do so. The expedition was to follow the Missouri River to its source, cross the continental divide and then follow the Columbia River to its mouth at the Pacific Ocean.

WHERE DID THEY GO? Lewis and Clark's great journey west begins in Washington

D.C. and zigzags along the Eastern seaboard encompassing the states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania; then proceeds through Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.

The trail then meanders through the great plains of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota and continues through the mountains and the valleys of Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, concluding at the Pacific Ocean.

The Lewis and Clark Trail is a cultural destination that covers over 4,600 miles, crosses four time zones, and showcases some of the most beautiful and rugged areas of America.

WHO WERE THEY?

Jefferson hired Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead the expedition.

  In May, 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out on an amazing expedition across the Louisiana Territory.

 It has been nearly 200 years since then. These true American heroes faced unknown people,

harsh conditions and unexplored lands to secure a place in history as two of the world's greatest explorers.

WHY DID THEY GO?

They went to learn about the Louisiana territory.

Meriwether asked Lewis and Clark to learn about trade in the Northwest , to make maps, to record the plants , and animals they saw.