Week 3 ss lewis and clarke

Lewis & Clark

American Experiences in Geography

Explore & Discover

What is an explorer? What did explorers want to discover?

Name some famous explorers? What were they searching for on their expeditions?

Pretend you are an explorer? Where would you like to explore? What are you in search of on your journey?

What might you need to take with you on your expedition?

What elements of geography would you encounter?

Last week we discussed the 5 themes of

geography. Let’s review! Location Place Region Movement Human/Environment Interaction

Today we are going to explore these 5 themes in history through the adventures of Lewis and

Clark!

Geography and History:Putting The Five Themes To Practice

In 1800, the United States was composed of

16 states, all east of the Mississippi River. President Jefferson had long been curious to

know exactly what lay west of the Mississippi. Why do you think he was he so curious?

Jefferson's longtime interest in the geography of the West grew even greater in 1803, when the Louisiana Territory was purchased from France, and Jefferson wanted information about the newly acquired land.

Lewis & Clark: The Background

Jefferson’s private secretary was a man named

Meriwether Lewis, a Virginian, frontiersman, and soldier.

He had served in the army in Ohio with a former Army captain and friend, William Clark.

These two men would work together as partners for President Jefferson.

The two were to share command as they explored, mapped, and studied a new route to the Pacific.

The Story

“The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, & such principal stream of it, as, by it's course & communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean, … and other river may offer the most direct & practicable water communication across this continent, for the purposes of commerce. “

Thomas Jefferson’s InstructionsWhat GEOGRAPHIC terms do you see in these instructions?

“Beginning at the mouth of the Missouri, you

will take careful observations of latitude & longitude, at all remarkable points on the river, & especially at the mouths of rivers, at rapids, at islands…The courses of the river between these points of observation may be supplied by the compass the log-line & by time, corrected by the observations themselves. The variations of the compass too, in different places, should be noticed.”

Further Instructions

What were Lewis and Clark instructed to do on

their expedition? Make MAPS of the rivers and land West of the

Mississippi Find a route from the Mississippi River to the

Pacific Ocean. Note landmarks, elevation, and directional

coordinates on the way to create a Northwest Route to the Pacific Ocean.

Discover what the territory was like in the west and what peoples’ inhabited the land.

What was their mission?

Let’s find the absolute location of

St. Louis, MO. Please turn in book E to page 82

and find St. Louis. Now, turn to page 94 and give me

an estimate of the longitude and latitude of St. Louis.

St. Louis-38° 45' N 90° 23' W

Location

PLACE

What physical characteristics did Lewis and Clark encounter? What landforms do you see on the following

map? What types of wildlife did they encounter? How did these landforms impact their journey?

What human characteristics did they find? What cultures did they come into contact with

on their trip? What clothing did they need to bring with

them?

What do you think the climate was like on their journey?

Human/Environment Interaction

Look at the following packing list to discover how Lewis and Clark interacted with their environment on the journey.

Consider the landforms that

Lewis and Clark encountered on their trip.

How did Lewis and Clark move through the land on their journey?

What types of travel were available during this time period?

Movement

Further Exploration

Join the expedition! Explore the PBS “Into the Unknown” website as you discover more about Lewis and Clark and their amazing journey through the Western United States!