On June 1805, William Clark, while on a reconnaissance mission to mark a route for the portage around the Great Falls of the Missouri, came across “the largest fountain or Spring I ever Saw, and doubt if it is not the largest in American Known.” Clark was describing a site now known as Giant Springs. Later, on June 29, Captain Lewis and Drewyer visited the springs, which he determined should “[remain] on the list of prodegies of this neighbourhood towards which, nature seems to have dealt a liberal hand.”

Today, Giant Springs produces about 156 gallons of water a day and remains at a constant 54 degrees. The spring is the headwaters of the 200-foot long Roe River, which, for a time, was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s shortest river.

Giant Springs is now part of a Montana state park and receives thousands of visitors a year. Also located in the state park, open year round, is a fish hatchery, picnic grounds, and a visitor center. Just a short walk along the River’s Edge Trail, visitors can view Rainbow Falls and Dam, one of the waterfalls the Corps had to portage.

Just a quarter of a mile from the park is the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center, operated by the USDA Forest Service. Through exhibits, videos, and interpretive programs, the visitor will learn about the Corps’ travels, as well as their relations with American Indians they met.

Researched, written, and narrated by University of West Florida Public History student Jane Gagne.