Near Fort Peck in Valley County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Summits of High Hills Were Covered with Pine

Lewis and Clark at the Pines

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, February 1, 2011

1. Summits of High Hills Were Covered with Pine Marker

Inscription. Scan the horizon across the Fort Peck Reservoir to your right. The stretch of land past York Island is an area called the Pines, site of Lewis and Clark's May 11, 1805 encampment. They noted enormous herds of elk, buffalo, deer and antelope at this site as well as the first pine trees they had seen on the upper Missouri since leaving Fort Mandan. This piney area must have been a sight for sore eyes after passing through so many miles of relatively bare hills and gullies.

"Saw today some high hills on the Stard. whose summits were covered with pine...it is of the pitch kind but I think the leaves somewhat longer than ours in Virginia... there is a dwarf cedar growing among the pine on the hills" Captain M. Lewis, Saturday , May 11, 1805

"About 5 P. M. my attention was struck by one of the Party runing at a distance towards us and making signs and hollowing as if in distress,...it was Bratton... he had shot a brown bear which immediately turned on him ...we finally found him ...and shot him through the skull with two balls;...it was a monstrous beast,...these bear being so hard to die reather intimedates us all;
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I must confess that I ...had reather fight two Indians than one bear." Captain M. Lewis, Saturday, May 11, 1805

Scientific Discovery: Greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus)
"There is another growth that...is becoming extreemly troublesome...the wood is firm and stif, the branches beset with a great number of long, shap, strong, wooddy looking thorns" Captain M. Lewis, Saturday , May 11, 1805

Erected by Travel Montana, Dept. of Commerce, Montana's Missouri River Country, Galsgow Chamber of Commerce, Army Corps of Engineers.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Exploration • Horticulture & Forestry. In addition, it is included in the Lewis & Clark Expedition series list. A significant historical date for this entry is May 11, 1805.

Location. 48° 0.573′ N, 106° 23.368′ W. Marker is near Fort Peck, Montana, in Valley County. It is on State Highway 24 near Yager Road. The marker is located at the Lewis and Clark Overlook. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5473 Montana Highway 24, Fort Peck MT 59223, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, February 1, 2011

2. Summits of High Hills Were Covered with Pine Marker

The marker is the last along this path.

is in Montana’s Missouri River Country.

It is also in the American Mountain West,

in the Lewis & Clark Corridor,

on the prairies,

on the Great Plains,

and specifically on the Northern Plains.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Peculiar White Water Named the Milk River (here, next to this marker); With No Running Water the Stream was called Big Dry River (here, next to this marker); Lewis & Clark in Missouri River Country (within shouting distance of this marker); The Slide of '38 (approx. half a mile away); Fort Peck Dam (approx. half a mile away); Built with Muscle and Muck (approx. half a mile away); In Memory (approx. half a mile away); Boomtowns on the Outskirts (approx. 1½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fort Peck.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 26, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 26, 2024, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 142 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 26, 2024, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.