Lewis and Clark expedition

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition (18041806), was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific coast undertaken by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, it was led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Their objectives were to explore the newly acquired territory and establish an American presence thus securing it before European powers tried to claim it, as well as scientific and economical to study the area's plants, animal life, and geography, and to discover what natural resources were available. Although the expedition did make notable contributions to science, scientific research itself was not the main goal of the mission.

Flora
The Lewis and Clark Expedition wrote of 179 species of undocumented plants and trees:
Alkali cordgrass American silverberry Antelope bitterbrush Aromatic aster Arrowleaf balsamroot Bear grass Besseys locoweed Big sagebrush Bigleaf maple Bitterroot Black cottonwood Black hawthorn Blue elderberry Blue flax Blue huckleberry Broom snakeweed Buckbrush California false hellebore California hazelnut California rhododendron Camas Canyon gooseberry Cascade Oregon-grape Cats ears Chocolate lily Cluster rose Clustered elkweed

Fauna
The expedition provided the first documentation of 122 species of animals, birds and fish:
Aleutian Canada goose American goldfinch American raven Audubons mountain sheep Black-billed magpie Black-tailed prairie dog Blue catfish Bonapartes gull Brewers blackbird Broad-tailed hummingbird Bull snake Bushy-tailed woodrat Cabaniss woodpecker California newt Channel catfish Clarks nutcracker Columbia river chub Columbian black-tailed deer Columbian ground squirrel Columbian sharp-tailed grouse Coyote Cutthroat trout Desert cottontail Double-crested cormorant Douglas squirrel Dusky horned owl Eastern spiny softshell turtle

Tribes
Lewis and Clark noted 48 tribes on their journey across the West.
Alsea Indians Amahami Indians Arikara Indians Assiniboin Indians Atsina Indians (Gros Ventre) Bannock Indians Blackfeet Indians Cathlamet Indians Cayuse Indians Chehalis Indians Cheyenne Indians Chinook Indians Clackamas Indians Clatskanie Indians Clatsop Indians Cowlitz Indians Crow Indians (Absaroka) Flathead Indians (Salish) Hidatsa Indians Kickapoo Indians Klickitat Indians Kootenai Indians Mandan Indians Minitari Indians Missouri Indians Multnomah Indians Nez Perce Indians

Common snowberry Cous Curlycup gumweed Deerhorn clarkia Desert parsley Disc mayweed Dwarf mountain fleabane Eatons aster Edible thistle Engelmanns spruce Evergreen huckleberry False buckthorn Fernleaf desert-parsley Fernleaved lousewort Four-wing saltbush Fragile prickly-pear Gardners saltbush Geyers onion Giant rye grass Glacier lily Golden currant Golden yarrow Grand fir Gray rabbitbrush Greasewood Great blanketflower Green rabbitbrush Hair grass Hollyleaf Oregon-grape Idaho fescue Indian breadroot Indian tobacco Jacobs ladder Lacy tansyaster Large monkey flower Large-flower tritelia Large-flowered clammyweed Large-head clover Leafy or dwarf thistle

Eastern woodrat Ermine Eulachon Forsters tern Franklins spruce grouse Glaucous-winged gull Goldeye Gray jay Greater white-fronted goose Grizzly bear Harbor seal Harris woodpecker Hutchins goose Least tern Lewis woodpecker Loggerhead shrike Long-billed curlew Long-tailed weasel McCowns longspur Missouri beaver Montana great horned owl Mountain beaver Mountain goat Mountain lion Mountain quail Mountain sucker Mule deer North American porcupine Northern bobcat Northern flicker Northern pikeminnow Northern plains striped skunk Northern pocket gopher Northern raccoon Northern short-tailed shrew Northwestern crow Northwestern garter snake Nuttalls (common) poorwill Oregon bobcat

Omaha Indians Oto Indians Palouse Indians Pawnee Indians Quinault Indians Shoshone Indians (Snake) Siletz Indians Siuslaw Indians Skilloot Indians Tenino Indians Teton Sioux Indians Tillamook Indians Umatilla Indians Umpqua Indians Wahkiakum Indians Walla Walla Indians Wanapum Indians Wasco Indians Wishram Indians Yakima Indians Yankton Sioux Indians (Nakota)

Lemon scurfpea Lewis monkeyflower Lewis mock orange Lindleys silverpuffs Linear-leaved phacelia Lodgepole pine Long-leaved mugwort Long-tailed wild ginger Lyalls angelica Lyalls nettle Maiden blue-eyed Mary Menzies larkspur Missouri milkvetch Mountain balm Mountain brome Mountain death camas Mountain hemlock Mountain ladys slipper Narrow-leaved skullcap Narrow-petaled stonecrop Narrowleaf cottonwood Narrowleaf mountain-trumpet Needle and thread grass Netleaf hackberry Nootka rose Nuttalls toothwort Ocean spray Orange honeysuckle Oregon ash Oregon boxleaf Oregon crab apple Oregon white oak Oregon wood sorrel Osage orange tree Owls clover Pacific blackberry Pacific dogwood Pacific madrone Pacific yew

Oregon pronghorn Oregon ruffed grouse Oregon spotted frog Pacific (northern) fulmar Pacific loon Pacific nighthawk Pacific tree frog Pigmy horned toad Pinyon jay Plains gray wolf Plains horned toad Plains western hognose snake Prairie horned lark Prairie rattlesnake Prairie sharp-tailed grouse Pronghorn antelope Red fox Red-necked grebe Red-spotted garter snake Richardsons blue grouse Richardsons red squirrel Ring-necked duck Roosevelt elk Sage grouse Sauger Sea otter Shiras moose Starry flounder Steelhead trout Steller's jay Striped skunk Swift fox Thirteen-lined ground squirrel Townsends chipmunk Townsends mole Tundra swan Water terrapin Western badger Western common crow

Peach-leaved willow Pestle parsnip Ponderosa pine Prairie apple Prairie rose Prairie smoke Prickly-pear cactus Purple coneflower Purple wake-robin Red alder Red columbine Red-flowering currant Rocky mountain bee plant Rocky mountain maple Salal Salmonberry Scarlet globe mallow Seashore lupine Showy phlox Shrubby beardtongue Silky lupine Silver sage Silvery buffaloberry Silvery lupine Sitka alder Sitka mountain ash Sitka spruce Skyrocket Slender popcorn flower Slender willow Slimflower scurfpea Small-head clover Snow-on-the-mountain Spring birch Squaw bush Stemless evening-primrose Sticky currant Straggly gooseberry Subalpine fir

Western fence lizard Western gray squirrel Western grebe Western gull Western meadowlark Western mourning dove Western pileated woodpecker Western rattlesnake Western tanager Western toad Western willet Western winter wren White sturgeon White-tailed deer White-tailed jackrabbit Yellow-bellied marmot

Sugarbowls Tansy Tarragon Thimbleberry Three-leaf bitterroot Tolmies onion Tufted evening-primrose Twinberry Umatilla gooseberry Varileaf phacelia Vine maple Water birch Western blue-flag Western bracken Western huckleberry Western larch Western mountain kittentails Western red baneberry Western red cedar Western serviceberry Western snakeweed Western springbeauty Western sweetroot Western wake-robin Western wallflower Western white pine White alder White milkwort White squaw currant Whitebark pine Wilcox's beardtongue Wormwood Yellow bell Yellow-flowering pea