The Clearwater and Snake Rivers
Whether one chose to take an exciting journey up the Snake River by jetboat or to explore the Lewis and Clark sites along the Clearwater River with historian and storyteller Lin Laughy, this exquisitely perfect fall day was exceedingly well spent. Up on the Snake River, we rode swiftly over the rapids, spotted lots of wildlife and talked about the special geological features found in the Hell’s Canyon. Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep were spotted along the steep and rocky canyon walls, and graceful, big-eared mule deer were also in evidence. Below the Columbia River basalts, from the Idaho border four hundred and forty miles west to the Pacific Ocean, are a series of exotic terranes. Much of the west coast of North America is made up of islands arcs and mini-continents that floated across the Pacific on the Pacific plate and were scraped off and smashed against the North American continent many millions of years ago.
Off to the east, along the Clearwater River, we followed the Corps of Discovery both in the late fall of 1805 when they were hungry, sick and exhausted and trying desperately to reach the Pacific Ocean before the winter set in; and on their1806 return trip home from the mouth of the Columbia River. Here in Clearwater country they had some remarkable interactions with the Nez Perce people, who showed themselves to be kind, intelligent and far-sighted. Without the assistance of several native tribes, the expedition would surely have failed and American history would have been written with different pens than that of the amazing Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and the Corps.
