In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson acquired the Louisiana Purchase from France, expanding the borders of the United States from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rocky Mountains. The vast areas of unexplored country offered the new nation the potential for growth and the possibility of a practical water route all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Jefferson had for years been fascinated by the unexplored territory west of the Mississippi River, and in June 1803 he announced plans to send an expedition overland to the Pacific. The President chose his close friend Meriwether Lewis to lead the expedition. Lewis selected his friend and former commanding officer, William Clark, to serve as co-leader of the expedition. The objective was to explore the Missouri River to its source and establish the most direct water route to the Pacific. They were instructed to write detailed accounts of their journeys, make maps, and provide information about the Indian Tribes indigenous to the west. In addition Jefferson expected them to make scientific and geographic observations of all they saw. In 1804, Lewis & Clark, along with 45 men and a dog, began a journey that would take three years and cover territory that would later encompass 11 states.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1803-06 was a monumental event that shaped the boundaries, character and future of the United States. The courageous explorers traveled up the Missouri River, across the Great Plains, over the Rocky Mountains, down the Columbia River to the shores of the Pacific and back again. Although a great deal has changed during the past 200 years, many of the sweeping landscapes and powerful waters so eloquently described by the Corps of Discovery have been permanently protected for future generations. The National Park Service today has the honor of preserving and managing numerous areas and programs that acknowledge or are related to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The Corps of Discovery is commemorated in areas as diverse as Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia, Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in Missouri, Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site in North Dakota, Nez Perce National Historical Site in Idaho and Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in Oregon and Washington.
These pages provide a sampling of the many National Park Service and other Federal Agency sites that can help visitors gain a better understanding of The Corps of Discovery Expedition and provide a physical link to our past, present, and future.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1803-06 was a monumental event that shaped the boundaries, character and future of the United States. The courageous explorers traveled up the Missouri River, across the Great Plains, over the Rocky Mountains, down the Columbia River to the shores of the Pacific and back again. Although a great deal has changed during the past 200 years, many of the sweeping landscapes and powerful waters so eloquently described by the Corps of Discovery have been permanently protected for future generations. The National Park Service today has the honor of preserving and managing numerous areas and programs that acknowledge or are related to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The Corps of Discovery is commemorated in areas as diverse as Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia, Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in Missouri, Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site in North Dakota, Nez Perce National Historical Site in Idaho and Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in Oregon and Washington.
These pages provide a sampling of the many National Park Service and other Federal Agency sites that can help visitors gain a better understanding of The Corps of Discovery Expedition and provide a physical link to our past, present, and future.
