Clark’s Lookout

The view from the top of Clark's Lookout shows the agricultural valley and urban development that compete for local water resources.

Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/jstephenconn/3864355847/, CC BY-NC 2.0

From the top of this limestone outcrop, known as Clark’s Lookout, Captain William Clark took compass readings of the course of the Big Hole and Beaverhead Rivers on August 13, 1805. Clark remarked in his journal that the expedition members had difficulty hauling their canoes over shoals in the cold water.24

Water is valuable in this area, with high demand for irrigated crops, livestock pasture, and fish habitat. In 2016, as part of a National Drought Resilience Partnership, the Beaverhead Watershed Committee conducted streamflow studies and worked with stakeholders to draft a Beaverhead Watershed Drought Resiliency Plan. They documented effects of climate change in the watershed, including earlier spring runoff, lower peak runoff, decreased summer streamflow, and warmer water temperatures. Conflict among users for limited water resources is one result of these changes.25

Citations:
24 NPS, “Clark’s Lookout,” Pittsburgh to the Pacific: High Potential Historic Sites of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Trail, 2022, 75, https://www.nps.gov/lecl/getinvolved/upload/2022_LCNHT_HPHS_Report_508compliantUPDATE-2.pdf; William Clark, August 13, 1805 entry, in Gary E. Moulton, Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, https://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/item/lc.jrn.1805-08-13.
25 Crystal J. Stiles and Eliot Wickham, “Drought Resiliency Planning Prepares Stakeholders for New Conditions,” U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit, last updated May 10, 2024, https://toolkit.climate.gov/case-studies/drought-resiliencyplanning-prepares-stakeholders-new-conditions; Chris Carparelli, “Beaverhead Watershed Drought Resiliency Plan,” (n.p.: Beaverhead Conservation District and Beaverhead Watershed Committee, 2016), https://www.beaverheadwatershed.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Beaverhead-Drought-Resiliency-Plan-2016.pdf.

Climate Change:Lewis and Clark Trail

Lewis and Clark NHT Visitor Centers and Museums

This map shows a range of features associated with the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, which commemorates the 1803-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition. The trail spans a large portion of the North American continent, from the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon. The trail is comprised of the historic route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, an auto tour route, high potential historic sites (shown in black), visitor centers (shown in orange), and pivotal places (shown in green). These features can be selected on the map to reveal additional information. Also shown is a base map displaying state boundaries, cities, rivers, and highways. The map conveys how a significant area of the North American continent was traversed by the Lewis and Clark Expedition and indicates the many places where visitors can learn about their journey and experience the landscape through which they traveled.