“Ocean in View! O! the Joy!”

Clark’s journal entry for November 7, 1805 contains one of the most famous lines in American exploration history. Though the expedition was actually viewing the Columbia River estuary rather than the open ocean, the emotional significance of the moment was unmistakable.

“Great joy in camp. We are in View of the Ocian, this great Pacific Octean which we been So long anxious to See, and the roreing or noise made by the waves brakeing on the rockey Shores may be heard distictly.”

After 18 months and over 4,100 miles of travel, the Corps of Discovery had accomplished the primary goal of the expedition — reaching the Pacific coast by an overland route. The moment was tempered, however, by the fact that they still had to find a suitable winter campsite and eventually make the entire return journey.