The Volcanoes of Lewis and ClarkOctober 7, 1805
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-- The Volcanoes of Lewis and Clark Map of the Journey -- Volcanoes, Basalt Plateaus, Major Rivers, etc. CALENDAR of the Journey -- October 1805 to June 1806 Along the Journey -- Pacific Northwest Maps - Columbia River, Volcanoes, Flood Basalts, Missoula Floods, Geology, etc. The Corps of Discovery -- The Journey of Lewis and Clark About the Reference Materials -- The Journals, Biddle/Allen, DeVoto, Gass, Moulton, Topo Maps, and others USGS Lewis and Clark Links -- Links to USGS Websites highlighting the Lewis and Clark Journey Resources Publications Referenced and Websites Visited |
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October 5-6 The Journey Begins, Canoe Camp |
October 7
On the Clearwater, Canoe Camp to Jacks Creek Canoe Camp and Orofino (Idaho), Dworshak Dam, Nez Perce National Historic Park, Clearwater River, Canyon Creek, Peck (Idaho), Lenore (Idaho), Jack's Creek |
CONTINUE
October 8-9 On the Clearwater, Jacks Creek to the Potlatch River |
| On October 7, 1805, Lewis and Clark and the "Corps of Discovery" began their journey down the Clearwater River and into the volcanics of the Pacific Northwest. The Corps travelled from the Clearwater to the Snake and down the "Great Columbia", finally reaching the Pacific Ocean on November 15, 1805. Along the journey they encountered the lava flows of the Columbia Plateau, river channels carved by the great "Missoula Floods", and the awesome beauty of five Cascade Range volcanoes. |
| The Volcanoes of Lewis and Clark |
| To the Pacific - October 1805 |
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On the Clearwater Canoe Camp to Jacks Creek |
| Since September 26, 1805, Lewis and Clark have been camping at the confluence of the North Fork Clearwater River with the main stem Clearwater River, approximately 4 miles west of today's Orofino, Idaho. At this site (called "Canoe Camp") the Lewis and Clark expedition, aided by the Nez Perce, built five canoes for their journey down the Columbia River. Today, Dworshak Dam, the tallest dam in Idaho, is located approximately one mile upstream on the North Fork Clearwater River. Canoe Camp is part of the Nez Perce National Historic Park. |
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Canoe Camp and Orofino, Idaho:
Canoe Camp: From September 26 to October 7, 1805, the Lewis and Clark camped at "Canoe Camp". Canoe Camp is approximately 4 miles west of Orofino, Idaho, along U.S. Highway 12, on the south bank of the Clearwater River, and opposite the mouth of the North Fork Clearwater River. At this site the Lewis and Clark expedition, aided by the Nez Perce, built five canoes in September 1805. Lewis and Clark had used packhorses in crossing the mountain trails from the upper Missouri; here they returned to river travel. They cached their saddles and gear and left their horses to be wintered with the friendly Nez Perce Indians. Today Canoe Camp is part of the Nez Perce National Historic Park. Interpretive sign. -- U.S. National Park Service Website, Nez Perce National Historical Park, 2002, and Moulton, 1996, v.10 Orofino, Idaho: Except for missionaries, few white men were seen after Lewis and Clark until the winter of 1859 when Captain Elias D. Pierce found gold. Due to restrictions on what had become part of the Nez Perce Reservation, he could not legally come into the area. However, he returned quietly in the winter of 1860 with a party of 12. They camped on Canal Gulch near what is now the town of Pierce, where one of the men made a significant gold discovery. That winter, 1860-61, Pierce City and Oro Fino City were established only two miles apart. Oro Fino burned down in 1867 and was not rebuilt. Due to the inflow of settlers and the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad up Clearwater River, today's Orofino townsite got its start in 1898. The name Oro Fino means "fine gold." and was taken from the old gold rush town called "Oro Fino". When the post office objected to two words, the town joined the two words and became Orofino. -- Orofino, Idaho, Chamber of Commerce Website, 2003, and Clearwater, Idaho, Historical Museum Website, 2003 Lewis and Clark in Orofio: It is reported that the Lewis and Clark Expedition's Corps of Discovery (1805-1806) were the first white men and black man in Idaho. The expedition came into Clearwater County Sept. 20, 1805. They met the Nez Perce Indians on the Oyaip (Weippe) Prairie where the Nez Perce fed the starving men. Originally, the Nez Perce unsure of this expedition's intent, discussed killing all of them, but a Nez Perce woman named Wat-Ku-ese told them that white people had helped her when she had been captured by another tribe. She asked that the Corps be spared. The Corps of Discovery moved down to Canoe Camp on the Kooskooskee (Clearwater River) and camped. The Nez Perce showed the men of the Corps how to burn out the center of logs to make the canoe building faster. Five canoes were made and the expedition left Orofino on Oct. 10, 1805 on their way to the Pacific Ocean. On May 5, 1806, Lewis and Clark returned to Clearwater County where the Nez Perce welcomed them. The expedition came through near Orofino to collect the horses they had left with the Nez Perce the previous year. They also picked up supplies they had stored for the return trip. The Corps stayed at Long Camp near Kamiah until June 23, 1806, waiting for the snow to melt enough to allow passage through the mountains. During this time, the Corps and Nez Perce shared medicines, games, dancing and much more particular to the two cultures. Nez Perce guides helped Lewis and Clark get back over the mountains on their return to the eastern United States. -- Clearwater, Idaho, Historical Museum Website, 2003 Dworshak Dam: Dworshak Dam is located on the North Fork Clearwater River approximately 5 miles north of Orofino, and approximately one mile north of the North Fork's confluence with the main stem Clearwater River and Lewis and Clark's Canoe Camp. Dworshak Dam is a 717-feet-high concrete dam, the tallest dam in Idaho. Dworshak was completed in 1971 and is used for flood control and power generation. The reservoir has a storage capacity of 2 million acre feet of water, largest in the state. -- Idaho Department of Water Resources Website, 2003 Nez Perce National Historical Park: When Nez Perce National Historical Park was created in 1965, it consisted of 24 sites scattered across north central Idaho. Four of the sites were administered by the National Park Service and the remaining 20 were a mixture of other federal, local, and private sites. In 1992 an additional 14 sites were added in the adjoining states of Oregon, Washington, and Montana. Currently, agreements with the property owners are being worked out to provide for public access to each area. -- U.S. National Park Service Website, Nez Perce National Historical Park, 2002 |
| This morning all the canoes were put in the water and loaded, the oars fixed, and every preparation made for setting out but when we were all ready, the two chiefs who had promised to accompany us, were not to be found, and at the same time we missed a pipe tomahawk. We therefore proceeded without them. Below the forks [confluence North Fork Clearwater River with the main stem Clearwater] this river is called the Kooskooskee [Clearwater River], and is a clear rapid stream, with a number of shoals and difficult places. |
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Clearwater River:
Clearwater River: The Clearwater River drains approximately a 9,645 square mile area. The basin extends approximately 100 miles north to south and 120 miles east to west. There are four major tributaries that drain into the mainstem Clearwater River: the Lochsa, Selway, South Fork Clearwater, and North Fork Clearwater Rivers. The Clearwater River has an international reputation as one of the best steelhead fisheries anywhere. The river and U.S. Highway 12 are part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Developed recreation sites are primarily for boating and fishing, with camping available in a few locations. The North Fork of the Clearwater and the Lochsa Rivers provide miles of tumbling whitewater interspersed with quiet pools for migratory and resident fish. The Clearwater was used as a passageway by explorers and trappers, and later by miners and loggers because it was much more tame than its counterpart the Salmon River. -- Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority Website, 2002, Visit Idaho Website, 2002, and Idaho Museum of Natural History Website, 2002, Digital Atlas of Idaho Geology of the Lower Clearwater Basin: Geology is an important factor for the Clearwater basin because it influences soils, topography, climate, and sedimentation. The high plateau on the western part of the Clearwater basin in (Lolo/Middle Fork and Lower Clearwater), is made up of Miocene-age (17.5 to 6 million years ago) Columbia River basalt lava flows that flooded the ancestral valleys leaving preexisting hilltops standing like islands (steptoes) in a sea of basalt. This plateau has moderately sloping terrain with local elevations ranging from 2,500 to 3,500 feet, and some isolated buttes reaching as high as 5,000 feet. The easternmost extension of the Palouse loess system deposited windblown silt-sized material called loess on the basalt planes, and along with volcanic ash from many Cascade eruptions, mantle the western part of the Clearwater basin, strongly influencing soil formation, erosion and sedimentation into streams and rivers. -- Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority Website, 2002 |
| For some miles the hills are steep, the low grounds narrow, but then succeeds an open country with a few trees scattered along the river. At the distance of nine miles is a small creek on the left [Canyon Creek, near Peck, Idaho]. We passed in the course of the day ten rapids, in descending which, one of the canoes struck a rock, and sprung a leak: we however continued for nineteen miles, and encamped on the left side [right side, see quoted passages below] of the river [near the present town of Lenore, Idaho, on the right side of the river], |
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Lenore, Idaho:
Lenore is located 26 miles east of Lewiston on Highway 12, and is an area rich in history. The Lenore archeological site (a village occupied from 900 B.C. to 1300 A.D.) is below the town, on the south bank of the Clearwater, where the Lenore Rest Area is now located. This is also the location of the Big Eddy Rapids. -- Idaho's "Highway12.com" Website, 2002 |
| opposite to the mouth of a small run [Jack's Creek, on the left side of the river] |
| "... The after noon Cloudy proced on passd maney bad rapids, one Canoe that in which I went in front Sprung a Leak in passing the 3rd rapid --- Set out at 3 oClock P M & proceeded on ... 2 miles to a bend on the left at the mo. of a run opposit to which we camped. from water Encamped on a pool right, narrows above for 6 miles all way (N W 1 mile to a bend to right) ..." [Clark, October 7, 1805, first draft] |
| "... The after part of the day Cloudy proceded on passed 10 rapids which wer danjerous the Canoe in which I was Struck a rock and Sprung a leak in the 3rd rapid, we proceeded on 20 miles and Encamped on a Stard point oppost a run. passed a Creek Small on the Lard. Side at 9 miles ..." [Clark, October 7, 1805] |
| "... About 3 o'clock in the afternoon we began our voyage down the river, and found the rapids in some places very dangerous. One of our canoes spring a leak. We therefore halted and mended her, after going twenty miles. The hills come close on the river on both sides; where there are a few pine trees. Back from the river the tops of the hills, to a great distance are prairie land; and the country level. ..." [Gass, October 7, 1805] |
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Jack's Creek:
In the Journey notes written at Fort Clatsop (about the Journey to the Pacific in 1805), Clark refers to this creek as "Canister run", 19 miles from Canoe Camp, passed 16 rapids. Moulton (v.6, 1990) lists Canister Run as today's Canyon Creek, but later, on the return journey, Moulton lists Canister Run as Jacks Creek (v.7, 1991). The Clearwater Historical Society lists it as Jacks Creek: "The return trip in 1806 brought the Corps of Discovery up the Clearwater River to Canister Creek (Jacks Creek at Lenore, Idaho) near where they had camped the year before." -- Moulton, v.6, 1990, and v.7, 1991, and Clearwater Historical Society Website, 2002 |
| Here the canoe was unloaded and repaired, and two lead canisters of powder deposited; several camps of Indians were on the sides of the river, but we had little intercourse with any of them. |
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The Camp - October 7, 1805:
Near the present town of Lenore, across the river from Jacks Creek. |
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