lewis and clark expedition

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Definition of lewis and clark expedition in English English dictionary

(1804-06) First overland expedition to the U.S. Pacific coast and back, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Initiated by Pres. Thomas Jefferson, the expedition set out to find an overland route to the Pacific, documenting its exploration through the new Louisiana Purchase. About 40 men, skilled in various trades, left St. Louis in 1804. They traveled up the Missouri River into present-day North Dakota, where they built Fort Mandan (later Bismarck) and wintered among the Mandan Sioux. They left the next spring, hiring Toussaint Charbonneau and his Indian wife, Sacagawea, who served as guide and interpreter. They traveled through Montana and by horse over the Continental Divide to the headwaters of the Clearwater River. They built canoes to carry them to the Snake River and then to the mouth of the Columbia River, where they built Fort Clatsop (later Astoria, Ore.) and spent the winter. On the journey back the group divided, then reunited to canoe down the Missouri to St. Louis, arriving to great acclaim in September 1806. All but one member of the expedition survived. The journals kept by Lewis and others documented Indian tribes, wildlife, and geography and did much to dispel the myth of an easy water route to the Pacific

an expedition sent by Thomas Jefferson to explore the northwestern territories of the United States; led by Merriwether Lewis and William Clark; traveled from St

Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River from 1803 to 1806

Related Terms

Lewis and Clark

two explorers, Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) and William Clark (1770-1838), who travelled across North America from 1804 to 1806, going up the Missouri River and over the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast. They drew maps and gathered information about the Native American people who lived there

Hyphenation

lew·is and Clark ex·pe·di·tion

Turkish pronunciation

luîs ınd klärk ekspıdîşın

Pronunciation

/ˈlo͞oəs ənd ˈklärk ˌekspəˈdəsʜən/ /ˈluːɪs ənd ˈklɑːrk ˌɛkspəˈdɪʃən/