Westbound journey
14 May 1804–7 November 1805 · mixed · high route
Representative route: Camp Dubois → Fort Mandan → Lemhi Pass → Fort Clatsop
overland · river · scientific
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Corps of Discovery travelled from the Mississippi watershed to the Pacific and back, guided and supported by Indigenous communities along a route already known to them.
Dates14 May 1804–23 September 1806
Purposemapping, surveying, documentation
Outcomecompleted
Transportkeelboat, canoe, foot, horse
Historical significance
The expedition created an extensive US record of western geography, plants, animals, and nations while advancing American territorial ambitions.
Missouri to the Pacific and return
Return journey
23 March 1806–23 September 1806 · mixed · high route
Representative route: Fort Clatsop → St. Louis
People
- Meriwether Lewis: Co-commander, naturalist, and chronicler of the Corps of Discovery.
- William Clark: Co-commander and principal cartographer of the Corps of Discovery.
- Sacagawea: A Lemhi Shoshone woman whose language knowledge, diplomacy, and geographic familiarity supported the expedition.
- York: William Clark’s enslaved servant and a full working member of the expedition.
Major places
- Camp Dubois: The Corps of Discovery’s winter staging camp near the Mississippi–Missouri confluence.
- Fort Mandan: The expedition’s 1804–05 winter camp near Mandan and Hidatsa villages.
- Lemhi Pass: A Continental Divide crossing used on the westward journey.
- Fort Clatsop: The expedition’s winter quarters near the Pacific coast.
Sources
- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, US National Park Service. Route, chronology, participants, and historical context.