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Portion of the 1806 map by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, titled "Map of part of the continent of North America: whereon is laid down the Missouri...and the Columbia Rivers, from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean." Courtesy of Boston Athenæum. |
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 ewis and Clark traveled the Columbia from the mouth of the Yakima River to the Pacific Ocean. Wherever they could, they acquired maps from native occupants who intimately knew the details of the region.
Where Lewis focused on the natural history of the region, Clark's focus was thegeography. While at Fort Clatsop, on February 14, 1806, both captains note in their journals that Clark had "completed a map of the Countrey." This particular map has been lost, but the facsimile reproduced here, was engraved by Nicholas King from the 1806 map prepared by Clark. The map was unknown to history for sixty years, when it was acquired by the Boston Athenæum.
Lewis & Clark's 1806 composite
map of Columbia River country.
Compare this 1806 composite map with the 1803 map by Nicholas King.
Also compare this USGS map of the Columbia watershed.
What grade would you give Clark for his map?
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