Why did Lewis and Clark find a water route?

Establishing a river route from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean was crucial to capturing a portion of the fur trade that had proven so profitable to Great Britain. Lewis and Clark were thus instructed to map the territory through which they would pass and to explore all tributaries of the Missouri River.

What was the main purpose of the Lewis and Clark route?

The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806) was a federally funded venture to explore the North American West. The expedition’s principal objective was to survey the Missouri and Columbia rivers, locating routes that would connect the continental interior to the Pacific Ocean.

What items did Lewis and Clark use?

From there, Clark took the boat up the Mississippi River while Lewis continued along on horseback to collect additional supplies. Some of the supplies collected were: surveying instruments including compasses, quadrants, telescope, sextants and a chronometer.

How did Lewis and Clark find the Northwest Passage?

Lewis and Clark did map the route to the pacific oceans though they were not able to find a direct water route as they had hoped. The Majority of their trip was along the Missouri River and thus it is the closest thing to a “Northwest Passage” that the explorers were able to find. Rate!

What did Jefferson want Lewis and Clark to find?

Jefferson hoped that Lewis and Clark would find a water route linking the Columbia and Missouri rivers. This water link would connect the Pacific Ocean with the Mississippi River system, thus giving the new western land access to port markets out of the Gulf of Mexico and to eastern cities along the Ohio River and its minor tributaries.

What was the purpose of the Lewis and Clark Trail?

In a letter to Lewis, Jefferson explained the journey’s primary mission was to explore the area from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. Jefferson hoped to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean—the long-sought-after Northwest Passage. This was not Jefferson’s only goal.

When did Lewis and Clark travel up the Missouri River?

When the spring of 1805 brought high water and favorable weather, the Lewis and Clark Expedition set out on the next leg of its journey. They traveled up the Missouri to present-day Three Forks, Montana, wisely choosing to follow the western-most tributary, the Jefferson River.

How did Lewis and Clark get to the Pacific Ocean?

This water link would connect the Pacific Ocean with the Mississippi River system, thus giving the new western land access to port markets out of the Gulf of Mexico and to eastern cities along the Ohio River and its minor tributaries.

Jefferson hoped that Lewis and Clark would find a water route linking the Columbia and Missouri rivers. This water link would connect the Pacific Ocean with the Mississippi River system, thus giving the new western land access to port markets out of the Gulf of Mexico and to eastern cities along the Ohio River and its minor tributaries.

In a letter to Lewis, Jefferson explained the journey’s primary mission was to explore the area from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. Jefferson hoped to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean—the long-sought-after Northwest Passage. This was not Jefferson’s only goal.

Where did Lewis and Clark cross the West River?

Much of the landscape near Missoula that Lewis & Clark crossed remains unchanged. Montana’s rivers and highways flow past scores of landmarks related to the expedition. In 1804, a hopeful Thomas Jefferson, sent Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to find the fabled River of the West.