ewis and Clark were struck by the austere landscape of the Columbia Plateau. "Not one Stick of timber on the river," reported William Clark on October 10th, when they reached the forks of the Snake River, and entered what is now the state of Washington. In their haste to reach the ocean, they quickly passed through the Plateau country and reached Celilo Falls on October 22nd.

On their return trip they spent only a few more days in this area, from Celilo on April 21st to the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater on May 4th.

Read the commentary by the captains about the peoples they met on the Columbia Plateau; their physical descriptions, their characteristics, their houses and canoes, and their foods.

Characteristics  |  Physical Description  |  Foods  |  Houses and Modes of Transportation