The US Exploring Expedition in Washington (1841): Linking Puget Sound to Walla Walla
Navy Lt. Charles Wilkes brought the United States Exploring Expedition to the Puget Sound in 1841 as part of an American science initiative. During five months the seamen, artists, and scientists of the US Ex Ex conducted two explorations that took them to Grays Harbor and down the Cowlitz Corridor to Fort Vancouver. Two additional outfits crossed the Cascade Mountains to visit Fort Colville and the Protestant missions on the Spokane and Walla Walla rivers. Wilkes' greatest achievement, however, was to inform Congress about the difficulties associated with the Columbia River Bar and, conversely, the advantages of Puget Sound harbors.

A Student on the Columbia River: Sacagawea in the Pacific Northwest
Sacagawea, the only female member of the Corps of Discovery, was a teenager in the fall of 1805 when she arrived in the Pacific Northwest. Her entire time with the Lewis and Clark Expedition was a tutorial, but her time on the Columbia River was exceptionally educational. Who was Sacagawea, and what was her role with the expedition? In what ways did she gain wisdom as the miles added up? Quotations from the journals of Lewis and Clark provide an answer.