During late July and early August of 1804, the Lewis and Clark Expedition traveled the length of the Missouri River that today is the boarder between Iowa and Nebraska. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark studied the river, forests, and prairies. They often hiked along the riverbanks and explored inland while other crew members kept the keelboat and pirogues moving upriver. Clark described the river bluffs and tall grass prairie in his journal. He compared the bluffs to the head of a bald man, and said the prairie stretched "as far as my sight will extend." Once, while hunting elk, Clark found the endless prairie "so entertaining" that he forget the promise of fresh game for days. He spent several hours studying the plants and soil instead. In his journals, Clark also described the yellow clay of the Loess Hills. While he did not refer to them by that name, he may have been the first American to write about this steep ridge of hills that begins in northwestern Missouri and continues for 200 miles along the western edge of Iowa. President Thomas Jefferson had predicted in his instructions to Lewis and Clark that the plants, animals and land would be "worthy of notice." While traveling in this region, members of the Expedition found that this was the case.
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