Animals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

The Lewis and Clark Expedition captured a live prairie dog near here and sent it all the way to President Thomas Jefferson in Washington, DC.

Prairie dogs are important to the Great Plains ecosystem. Their numbers have declined dramatically since the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through here.

Today the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail passes through the homelands of more than sixty tribes. These tribes celebrate their own languages, art, culture, and innovation. Hear the names of a few plants and animals in indigenous languages. Just remember, each plant and animal has dozens of different names depending on who is speaking and what language the speaker is using. Do you know a name in another language?

Color the Trail: Animals features animals of the trail and their names in Chinuk Wawa, Lakota, Arikara, Shoshoni, Osage, Hidatsa, Blackfoot, Nimipuutimt, and Mandan. More than 65 tribes have a connection with the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Download, print, and color the pages.

Located an hour west of Portland, Oregon, the strand of shoreline now called Indian Beach was once home to several Tillamook villages. When passing through on January 8, 1806, William Clark’s guide pointed out these village to the explorer as they searched for a whale carcass that was said to have washed ashore nearby.

We’re sure Lewis and Clark would have loved to have honey to munch on as they journeyed across the continent. But, it turns out honeybees played a different, but important role on the trail!

Located in northeastern Nebraska, Ponca State Park is one of Nebraska’s most visited state parks. It manages one of two unchannelized stretches of the Missouri National Recreation River. A popular destination for tourists and naturalists alike, the park boasts heavily forested hills, scenic vistas, wetlands, abundant wildlife, and a fascinating history.

Lake Elmo is a large 64-acre reservoir in Billings, Montana. The park is 183 acres in size at an elevation of 3,199 feet, and the lake is filled with opportunities for friends and family of all ages.

Wolverines are the largest member of the weasel family, but could easily be confused with small bears with bushy tails. If you’ve never seen one, you’re not alone. There are only an estimated 300 remaining in the continental U.S., living primarily in the higher elevations of the Rocky Mountain states.

Cullaby Lake County Park is a 165-acre park located off Highway 101 between Astoria and Seaside, Oregon. The lake is said to take its name from a man named Cullaby, a well-known Indian thought to be the son of Jack Ramsay, a native man whom Meriwether Lewis and William Clark met on December 31, 1805.