Confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers

The expedition reached the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers near present-day Pasco, Washington. They were now on the great “River of the West” that would carry them to the Pacific Ocean.

“We arrived at the junction of this river and the Columbia which joins from the N.W.”

Clark estimated the Columbia to be about 960 yards wide at this point. Hundreds of Native people from the Yakama, Wanapum, and other plateau nations gathered to observe the expedition. The explorers noted enormous quantities of dried salmon at the riverside camps — evidence of the river’s legendary fish runs.