Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

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Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Location: MO, KS, IA, NE, SD, ND, MT, ID, OR, & WA., USA
Nearest city: Billings, MT
Coordinates: 45°59′73″N, 108°00′34″W
Area: 51 acres (206,000 m²)
Established: March 21, 1978
Visitation: 250,000 (in 2004)
Governing body: National Park Service

In 1804, Meriwether Lewis & William Clark began a voyage of discovery with 45 men, a keelboat, two pirogues, and a dog. They departed from Camp Wood, located in what was to become Illinois.

President Thomas Jefferson had long dreamed of what lay to the west of the young United States – the animals, plants, and minerals, and a route for eastern trade. The President had privately requested Congress to fund the expedition shortly before the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Lewis and Clark were ordered to write accounts of all they did, each species encountered, details of cultures they met, maps of the land—everything. They traveled over a three-year period through lands that later became 11 states.

Most of the trail follows the Missouri and Columbia Rivers. Much has changed in 200 years but trail portions remain intact. At 3700 miles (5,950 km), the trail is the second longest of the 23 National Scenic and National Historic Trails. It begins at Hartford, Illinois, and passes through portions of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

The official headquarters for the trail is located at the National Park Service, Mid-West Regional Headquarters, in Omaha, Nebraska.

[edit] External links

U.S. National Trails System
National Scenic Trails:

Appalachian Trail | Pacific Crest Trail | Continental Divide Trail | North Country Trail | Ice Age Trail | Florida Trail | Potomac Heritage Trail | Natchez Trace Trail
National Historic Trails:

Oregon Trail | Mormon Trail | Lewis and Clark Trail | Iditarod Trail | Overmountain Victory Trail | Nez Perce Trail | Santa Fe Trail | Trail of Tears | Juan Bautista de Anza Trail | California Trail | Pony Express Trail | Selma to Montgomery Trail | El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail | Ala Kahakai Trail | Old Spanish Trail | El Camino Real de los Tejas Trail
National Recreation Trails:

National Recreation Trails Database | United States Forest Service | United States Park Service | Bureau of Land Management | Department of Agriculture
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