Sacajawea State Park is a public recreation area and historical preserve in the city of Pasco,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, covering at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the

Snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

and Columbia rivers where the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

camped on October 16, 1805. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

bears the name of the

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easter ...

woman

Sacagawea Sacagawea ( or ; also spelled Sakakawea or Sacajawea; May – December 20, 1812 or April 9, 1884)Sacagawea
...

, who was an active member of the expedition married to expedition member

Toussaint Charbonneau Toussaint Charbonneau (March 20, 1767 – August 12, 1843) was a French-Canadian explorer, trader and a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He is also known as the husband of Sacagawea. Early years Charbonneau was born in Boucherv ...

, a

French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fr ...

interpreter and explorer. The park's Sacajawea Interpretive Center features exhibits about her and about the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Park history

The park originated as a single-acre plot donated in 1927 and nurtured by members of the Pasco chapter of the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington, preserving the Lewis and Clark encampment site. The grounds became a state park in 1931. Workers with the

WPA WPA may refer to: Computing *Wi-Fi Protected Access, a wireless encryption standard *Windows Product Activation, in Microsoft software licensing * Wireless Public Alerting (Alert Ready), emergency alerts over LTE in Canada * Windows Performance An ...

constructed the park museum and three other buildings in 1938.

Activities and amenities

The park has facilities for picnicking, hiking, boating, fishing, and swimming. It is the beginning of the

Sacagawea Heritage Trail The Sacagawea Heritage Trail is a relatively flat multi-use recreational trail in the Tri-Cities, Washington. It travels along the Columbia River for its entire length, forming a loop that connects Pasco, Richland and Kennewick. The entire trail ...

, a paved bike trail that connects the communities of Tri-Cities area. The park's single campsite is held in reserve for paddlers on the Northwest Discovery Water Trail.

References

External links

Sacajawea Historical State Park
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
Sacajawea State Park Map
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
Sacajawea State Park
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers {{authority control Parks in Franklin County, Washington State parks of Washington (state) Museums in Franklin County, Washington 1931 establishments in Washington (state) Works Progress Administration in Washington (state) Sacagawea