Lewis and Clark Exploring the Bottomland Forests - Weldon Springs, MO
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 38° 39.398 W 090° 44.124
15S E 697051 N 4281107
Lewis and Clark historical marker located at the Weldon Springs Public Fishing Access.
Waymark Code: WM18N9
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 02/24/2007
Views: 17
May 22nd Tuesday 1804
... passed several small farms on the bank ... a camp of Kickapoos on the St. Side. Those Indians told me several days ago that they would come on & hunt and by the time I got to their camp they would have Some Provisions for us ... Soon after we came too the Indians arrived with 4 deer as a Present ..." William Clark
BOTTOMLAND FORESTS
Leaving St. Charles behind, Lewis and Clark passed farmers, merchants and traders living along the Missouri River. A friendly group of Kickapoo hunters were among the traders. As the expedition departed, William Clark had arranged for the Kickapoo to help with provisions.
Settlers relied on the wildlife, fish and wild fruits and vegetables to keep their families fed. Soils in the bottomland were fertile, but farmsteads small and yielded bare substance. To the settlers, expanding markets and new families foretold productive days ahead. Exploring the bottomland forests along the way, the crew continued to encounter settlements until La Charrette or Marthasville, about 50 miles from St. Charles.
The bottomland forests statewide developed on deep floodplain soils, replenished with silt from flooding rivers. Trees, such as sycamore and cottonwood, grew large due to fertile bottomland soils and ample moisture. Tree giants often reached 100 feet in height and two feet or more in diameter. Bottomland forests have mostly disappeared because the rich soils yield productive agriculture land, but the river bottoms remain amazing habitats to explore.