Editing Lewis and Clark Expedition (section)

=== Pacific Ocean ===
[[File:Fort Clatsop replica 2007.jpg|thumb|[[Fort Clatsop]] reconstruction on the Columbia River near the Pacific Ocean]]
The expedition sighted the Pacific Ocean for the first time on November 7, 1805, arriving two weeks later.<ref name=nps>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/lewi/learn/historyculture/index.htm|title=History & Culture – Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)|website=nps.gov|access-date=June 23, 2020|archive-date=February 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222123456/http://www.nps.gov/lewi/historyculture/index.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark/journey_leg_13.html |title=Lewis and Clark, Journey Leg 13, 'Ocian in View!', October 8 – December 7, 1805 |publisher=[[National Geographic Society]] |year=1996 |access-date=October 22, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927025708/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark/journey_leg_13.html |archive-date=September 27, 2016 }}</ref> The expedition faced the beginning of its second bitter winter camped on the north side of the Columbia River, in a storm-wracked area Clark called [[Dismal Nitch]].<ref name=nps/> Lack of food was a major factor. The elk, the party's main source of food, had retreated from their usual haunts into the mountains, and the party was now too poor to purchase enough food from neighboring tribes.<ref name="Ambrose, 1996 p.326">[[#Ambrose|Ambrose, 1996]] p. 326</ref> On November 24, 1805, the majority of the party voted to move their camp to the south side of the Columbia River near modern [[Astoria, Oregon]]. Both Sacagawea and the enslaved York participated in the vote.<ref>[[#Clark|Clark & Edmonds, 1983]] pp. 51–52</ref>

On the south side of the Columbia River, {{convert|2|mi|km|0}} upstream on the west side of the Netul River (now Lewis and Clark River), they constructed [[Fort Clatsop]].<ref name=nps/> They did this not just for shelter and protection, but also to officially establish the American presence there, with the American flag flying over the fort.<ref name="Ambrose, 1996 p.170">[[#Ambrose|Ambrose, 1996]] p. 170</ref><ref>[[#Harris|Harris, Buckley, 2012]], p. 109</ref> During the winter at Fort Clatsop, Lewis committed himself to writing. He filled many pages of his journals with valuable knowledge, mostly about botany, because of the abundant growth and forests that covered that part of the continent.<ref>[[#Ambrose|Ambrose, 1996]] p. 330</ref> The health of the men also became a problem, with many suffering from colds and influenza.<ref name="Ambrose, 1996 p.326"/>

Knowing that [[maritime fur trade]]rs sometimes visited the lower Columbia River, Lewis and Clark repeatedly asked the local [[Chinookan peoples|Chinooks]] about trading ships. They learned that Captain [[Samuel Hill (sea captain)|Samuel Hill]] had been there in early 1805. Miscommunication caused Clark to record the name as "Haley". Captain Hill returned in November 1805, and anchored about {{convert|10|mi|km}} from Fort Clatsop. The Chinook told Hill about Lewis and Clark, but no direct contact was made.<ref name=Malloy2006>{{cite book |last= Malloy |first= Mary |title= Devil on the deep blue sea: The notorious career of Captain Samuel Hill of Boston |date= 2006 |publisher= Bullbrier Press |isbn= 978-0-9722854-1-4 |pages= 7, 46–49, 56, 63–64}}</ref>

A Russian maritime expedition under statesman [[Nikolai Rezanov]] arrived at the mouth of the Columbia River while Lewis and Clark were still there. Neither Rezanov nor Lewis and Clark knew about each other. Rezanov had come from ''Novo-Arkhangelsk'' (today [[Sitka, Alaska]]), intending to establish a Russian agricultural colony to help with the perennial food shortages in [[Russian America]], and made plans for a relocation of the capital of Russian America from Sitka to the lower Columbia River. But his ship, ''Juno'', was unable to cross the [[Columbia Bar]]. So Rezanov went to California instead, setting in motion a process that eventually led to the founding of [[Fort Ross, California]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Matthews |first= Owens |title= Glorious Misadventures: Nikolai Rezanov and the Dream of a Russian America |year=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn= 978-1620402412 |pages=254–257}}</ref>