Lewis And Clark
Pop quiz: What’s the longest river in America?
If you said the Mississippi River, you’re one of almost 80 percent
of Americans who guessed wrong in a recent survey conducted for the National
Geographic Society.
In fact, the Missouri River is the nation’s longest
river—but Meriwether Lewis and William Clark didn’t know that either when
they started traveling upriver from St. Louis in 1802 in their great river
trip across the uncharted American west.
The “Voyage of Discovery,” as their expedition
was called, was an effort to discover a route to the Pacific Ocean through
the territory acquired for the young nation by Thomas Jefferson in the
Louisiana Purchase. By the time Lewis and Clark returned, they had discovered
more than 30 new wildlife species, encountered both friendly and hostile
tribes, and documented a majestic landscape teeming with birds, fish and
tremendous herds of buffalo and antelope.
Now as the bicentennial of this historic
adventure approaches in 2002, you can relive the journey at a traveling
museum exhibit cosponsored by American Rivers, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
and The History Channel. “Discovering the Rivers of Lewis and Clark”
will visit 25 cities along the route the two explorers took, spreading
a message of river conservation and encouraging people to get involved
in key decisions affecting the future of the rivers the famous explorers
traveled.
Visitors to the exhibit walk the length of
the Lewis & Clark Trail, from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean, learning
as they go about the rich river life that the explorers encountered. They
also learn how the “Big Muddy”—the Missouri—along with the Snake, and Columbia
rivers, have since been harnessed for human uses by channeling their waters
between huge dams, threatening many of the species with extinction.
The exhibit includes spectacular
color photos and maps, audio stations playing voices of the past and present,
a replica of Lewis & Clark’s keelboat, and computer stations running
interactive programs. A mini-theatre runs short videos about the rivers
of Lewis & Clark by The History Channel and others. Those who are unable
to visit the exhibit in person can retrace the route virtually at the American
Rivers website, where a teacher’s guide is available for use in classrooms
all across the country.
“Discovering the Rivers of Lewis and Clark” will
be on the road through 2003. To find out when it is coming to a location
near you, and for the Lewis & Clark teacher’s guide, point your browser
to www.americanrivers.org/fea
ture/exhibit.htm.
To learn more about how you can help with
American Rivers’ efforts to restore the rivers traveled by Lewis and Clark
as a tribute to the men of the Voyage of Discovery, see www.americanrivers.org/lewisclark/
default.htm.
