SHOWING RECORDS: 12 - 17 of 17 Select an image below for more about the expedition discoveries
Around the Great Falls
June 12-July 20, 1805
On June 13 Lewis became the first white man to see the Great Falls of the Missouri River. But to his astonishment there were five separate falls, not one as the Indians had said—and they went on for a 12-mile (19-kilometer) stretch. Portaging around the falls was going to take much more time than he had planned.
By June 16 Lewis had rejoined Clark, and six days later the portage began. It was the hardest physical task of the trip so far. More than a month would pass before the expedition was around the Great Falls and onto the next stretch of navigable water. Beyond rose the Rocky Mountains.
