Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

In 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led the first overland expedition to the Pacific Northwest sponsored by the U.S. government. The forty biologists, zoologists, meteorologists, interpreters, and navigators that made up the expeditionary crew encountered countless hardships, including snakebites, grizzly bear attacks, and starvation. The expedition provided important information about the environment of the western lands.