Lewis and Clark: The Map That Defined the American West
Often called the single most important printed map of the American West, the 1814 Lewis & Clark map represents the first accurate picture of the northwestern United States and the sources of the Upper Missouri River. Based on William Clark’s original expedition manuscript, it was engraved for the London edition of Lewis & Clark’s Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean.
Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson soon after the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806) was the first U.S. government-sponsored exploration of the continent’s newly acquired western territories. Over twenty-eight months, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and their Corps of Discovery traveled more than 8,000 miles—from St. Louis up the Missouri River, across the Rocky Mountains, and down the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean. Along the way they mapped the landscape, recorded plants and animals unknown to science, and established contact with dozens of Indigenous nations.
The 1814 map was the first tangible realization of Jefferson’s vision of Manifest Destiny—a scientific and geopolitical claim to the vast lands beyond the Mississippi. For the first time, Americans could clearly see the relationship between the Missouri River, the Columbia, and the Rockies, charting a pathway to the Pacific that would guide expansion, trade, and exploration for decades.
Described by map historian Carl Wheat as “a map of towering significance,” it became the foundation for nearly all subsequent mapping of the Northwest and established many placenames still used today. Published in both Philadelphia and London editions, it illustrated the official account of the expedition and stands as a cornerstone of Western Americana.
More than a map, it was a declaration: the young United States had crossed to the Pacific, and the era of westward expansion had begun.
Own a piece of American history—purchase our meticulously restored 1814 Lewis & Clark map and bring the legendary expedition and the birth of the American West into your collection today.
In addition to our detailed Lewis & Clark maps, these two pictorial editions offer a more artistic perspective on the expedition. Though lighter on technical detail, their striking illustrations capture the spirit and drama of the journey.
