Lewis and Clark

President Thomas Jefferson asked Lewis and Clark to explore the map of the North American wild West and make a map. They traveled across the country to the Pacific, and came back

Captain Meriweather Lewis (1774-1809) is a private secretary of President Thomas Jefferson. He is responsible for exploring the territory of the newly purchased Louisiana. He called a friend for help from William Clark.

Lieutenant William Clark (1770 - 1838) served in the US military. Clark is responsible for hiring and training these people when preparing expeditions, while Lewis collects the equipment and supplies they need.

May 14, 1804, Lewis and Clark and their team of over 40 people began exploring in St. Louis. They packed many equipment for travel, including rifles, food, and warm clothes. They also brought lots of glass beads and accessories so that they can trade with the Indians on their way.

They started along the upper stream of the Missouri River. They have a big ship called a barge and two boats called pirogues. Because they are against the currents, they must use long bars to push boats and ropes to push the boat out of the coast.

Lewis and Clark met many tribes of indigenous peoples in the process. There were some tense moments, but they made friends and traded with many different tribes. They even even spent their first winter at Mandan. So they met a fur catcher called Toussaint Charbonneau and his Shoshone's wife Sakagvia.

Sacagawea joined the expedition as a translator. She helped explore in various ways during the trip, including helping them show edible plants and maintaining peace and trade with different tribes.

Without the help of the Native American tribes and Sakagabia, the expedition will definitely fail.

When the expedition kept entering Montana along the Missouri River, they encountered a big waterfall. These people took nearly a month to take their boats to miles around the Great Falls.

Next, Lewis and Clark came to the Rocky Mountains. These mountains are harder to move than originally anticipated. When they finally crossed the Rocky Mountains, they met Nez Perce who helped them provide food and shelter.

It was about a year and a half after leaving St. Louis, in November 1805, they eventually reached the Pacific Ocean. They approached the sea in that winter and returned home in March 1806. They only need a trip on their way back about six months.

After the expedition, Lewis was appointed Governor of Louisiana territory, but Lewis died a few years later. Clark became the director of the situation in India with Governor of Missouri

Only one member died during the trip. Sergeant Charles Floyd died in the burst of the tail

Lewis and Clark could not find a cave in Lewis and Clark in Montana. The name certainly came from Meriwether Lewis and William Clarke who crossed part of the modern state park. It overlooks the famous historical Lewis and Clark Trail by itself about 50 miles. The caves of Lewis and Clark in Montana State are in the Madison Limestone layer of the Mississippi era. This limestone is formed by organisms with calcium shells dead in the sea discovered in this area about 350 million years ago. About 70 million years ago, there was a huge uplift that greatly tilted the former level rock formations and eventually build a junction to become Madison Limestone's Lewis Cave and Clark Cave. Calcium-rich limestone slowly dissolves as slightly acidic groundwater penetrates into these sloping seams of limestone.

Rui caves and Clark caves of the Mississippi era were dissolved by weakly acidic groundwater in Madison limestone lining. This limestone is formed by a layer of calcium-rich organic matter found in the ocean, approximately 325 to 365 million years ago. The red sandstones in the Pennsylvania era known as Amsden rose to the present height during the Laramid Orogeny Campaign, about 70 million years ago. This bulge formed the Madison limestone seam and later became a cave like a cave in Lewis and Clark. Most of the caves were excavated during the ice ages, and the water supply during this period was much bigger than today.