Lewis and Clark Expedition

A U.S. expedition from 1804 to 1806 that explored the Louisiana Purchase and traveled from the Mississippi River to the Pacific coast.

Missouri River: A major North American river flowing from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River. The expedition followed it upstream for much of its westward journey.
Louisiana Purchase: The 1803 U.S. acquisition of a vast territory from France, doubling the nation's area. The purchase prompted an effort to survey the new territory and find routes across it.
Meriwether Lewis: An American soldier and explorer who co-led the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Lewis commanded the expedition jointly with Clark and directed much of its scientific work.
William Clark's map of the American West: A map compiled by William Clark from geographic information gathered during the expedition. It shaped U.S. understanding of western rivers and routes after the party returned.
Zebulon Pike: A U.S. Army officer and explorer who led expeditions into the American West in 1805–1807. Pike’s contemporaneous explorations pursued different routes and objectives from Lewis and Clark’s transcontinental journey.
Continental Divide: The elevated boundary separating river systems that drain toward different oceans. Crossing it marked the transition from Missouri River waters to streams flowing toward the Pacific.
Thomas Jefferson: The third president of the United States, serving from 1801 to 1809. Jefferson proposed the exploration and secured congressional funding for it.
William Clark: An American soldier and explorer who co-led the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Clark shared command and produced maps that documented the journey.
Astoria Expedition: An 1810–1812 overland journey organized by John Jacob Astor to establish a fur-trading post at the mouth of the Columbia River. The expedition’s route and reports helped make an overland approach to the Pacific more imaginable.
John C. Frémont: A U.S. Army officer who led several western surveying expeditions in the 1840s. Frémont’s later surveys extended western mapping after the Corps of Discovery’s journey.

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