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Lewis and Clark Expedition Map.

(Click on Map to Enlarge)

"Map of Lewis and Clark's, Track across the Western Portion of North America, from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean, By Order of the Executive of the United States in 1804, 5, & 6." A black and white lithograph measuring 6" x 13 1/2”, reduced from the original map published in 1814. Published in Lewis and Clark's History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark ... Across the Rocky Mountains ... , Revised...By Archibald M'Vickar, New York: Harper and Brothers, 1842. In lower right, below neat line, is printed, "Drawn & Engraved by W. G. Evans N. York".  The map is filled with interesting annotations, such as this entry northwest of Council Bluffs, "Here the different Tribes meet in Friendship & collect Stone for Pipes", and "Here Capt. Clark made canoes to descend the R.", noted alongside the Yellowstone River. Indian tribes, forts, rivers, and creeks are located on the map, including “Monnels Ft.” near the Yellowstone River. Quoting Derek Hayes in the Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest, “Lewis and Clark laid to rest the dreams of a navigable water route to the Pacific. They did, however, find several routes through the mountains which could be used by future explorers or emigrants going to the Oregon country … They also made cartographers realize that the Rocky Mountain range was wider and further from the Pacific than had been previously thought.”  Referring to the original map, published in 1814, the Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States notes that, “The map’s chief contribution to the cartography of the United States is its delineation of the Missouri and Columbia river systems and of the Rocky Mountains… By stimulating an interest in the newly acquired territory of Louisiana and in the Oregon country Clark’s map became a factor in the Westward Movement.” Schwartz and Ehrenberg state that Clark’s map was “[m]ore accurate than any previous western map, it rapidly became the source for a new generation of western maps.” [Howes L-317,Wagner-Camp 13, Storm 2483, Schwartz and Ehrenberg p. 227-228]

Map image and caption Courtesy Deja View Antique Maps and Prints.