| Lesson
Find a map in your textbook or another resource that shows the area
included in the Louisiana Purchase. Now look at the same area on your
globe. Make a list of some of the present day states that now occupy
lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. (1.) ______________________
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To explore the new Louisiana territory President Jefferson chose
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead an expedition west to the
Pacific Ocean. To follow their expedition on your globe, start by
placing a small "X" at the junction of the Mississippi and Missouri
Rivers. The location is 39N/90W. From there, draw a line that follows
the Missouri River to its beginning in western Montana (MT on your
globe). From that location, extend your line west over land for about
250 miles until you come to the Snake River. Follow the Snake River
until it joins the Columbia River and then follow the Columbia until you
reach the Pacific Ocean near Portland, Oregon.
What was the land elevation around the river junction where Lewis and
Clark began their journey on May 14, 1804? (2.)
___________________________________ What is the land elevation at the
headwaters (the beginning) of the Missouri River? (3.)
_______________________________ Remember, the explorers traveled by boat
whenever possible. Why would the difference in land elevations at the
beginning of the river and at end of the river make the outbound part of
the expedition more difficult? (4.)
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On October 20th the expedition reached the Mandan Indian villages at
a place in North Dakota near 47N/101W. (This would be at the bottom of
the "R" in the word America.) Place a small "X" at this point. What is
the straight-line distance from the starting point of the expedition to
this location?
(5.) __________________ Since the river does not follow this straight
line, this distance, by way of boat, was closer to 1000 miles. If it
took the expedition 160 days to travel 1000 miles, how many miles did
they average per day? (6.) ____________________________
What is the name given to the plains through which the explorers
passed in North Dakota, South Dakota, and eastern Montana? Study your
globe carefully for the answer. (7.) ______________ ________________ In
what part of the journey did the travelers encounter the highest land
elevation?
(8.) ______________________________________
On your globe, find the location where the Columbia River crosses the
120W longitude line. Notice how the river is squeezed between high
mountains on both sides. This area is a place where the river has cut a
narrow gorge through a range of mountains called the Cascades. Not only
is the river forced into a narrow passage here, but the elevation of the
riverbed drops abruptly. What kind of conditions might Lewis and Clark
have experienced while rafting through this section of the Columbia?
(9.) ___________________________________________________
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