The total amount of miles traveled on this expedition was about 8,000 miles (12,800 kilometers). They started near St. Louis at a camp and journeyed up the Missouri River, across the Rocky Mountains, and along the Columbia and other rivers to the Pacific coast. They then returned to St. Louis with information such as; maps of their route and the surrounding regions; specimens and descriptions of plant, animal, and mineral resources; and information about the native Indians of the west. The successful outcome of the expedition enabled the United States to claim the Oregon region, which included the now known states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

Not long after Thomas Jefferson became the President, in 1801, he started to organize an expedition to chart a route through the Louisiana Territory and Oregon Region. He had faith that a route to the Pacific Coast along the Missouri

and Colombia Rivers may be part of a land-and-water passage in the middle of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Jefferson’s plan was to gather scientific information about the regions and establishing communication with the Indians that lived there. The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803, adding the extra task of tracing the boundaries of the Territory and laying United States claims to the Oregon Region.

The expedition set out from Camp Dubois in the keelboat and two pirogues (dugout canoes) on May 14, 1904. They started out with fifty men; many were French boatmen temporarily hired to maneuver the weighty keelboat and other craft against the Missouri’s rapid current. Aboard the keelboat they carried a huge amount of supplies, including food, medicine, scientific instruments, weapons, and presents for the Indians.

In December 1803, the group set up winter quarters at Camp Dubois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. During their stay at the camp, Lewis and Clark trained their men and were educated by fur traders and travelers about the areas the group would explore.

They started heading home on March 23, 1806. Lewis and Clark made the decision to divide the expedition into two groups on part of the way home. Lewis led his group over a new shorter route over the mountains and Clark and his group explored the Yellowstone River. When the expedition reached the ridge of the Bitterroot Range in June there they divided into the two groups at a spot called Traveler’s Rest. When Lewis and his group reached the Missouri by the new shorter way, they set out to examine the Marias River. While along the Marias River Lewis’ Party a group of Blackfeet Indians tried to steal their guns and horses. Luckily the explorers escaped unharmed, but two Indians were killed. Clark’s group reached the Yellowstone River and there they built canoes and followed the river to its connection with Missouri River. During the month of August, the two groups joined together on the Missouri below the mouth of the Yellowstone. After that they returned to St. Louis, ar

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