From the Blue to the Gray
“… we … proceeded to the place the whale had perished …”
William Clark, January 8, 1806
Objectives:Students will…
- Learn about several different species of large baleen whales that frequent the waters of the North Pacific Ocean
- Be able to make scientific inferences about which whale they think William Clark saw beached near one of the villages of a Nehalem band of Tillamook Indians.
Subjects:
Science, Mathematics, Geography, History
National Knowledge Content Standards:
Science:Life Science
Unifying Concept and Processes
Geography:Places and regions
History:Historical perspectives
Mathematics:Process of computation
Properties of the concepts of measurement
General nature and uses of mathematics
Materials Needed:
Poster board, color markers, measuring tape, pencils, clipboards, paper, “This Monster on the Sand”(p. 6) and “From the Blue to the Gray” handout (p. 7)
Vocabulary:
Baleen, endangered, to founder, marine mammal, threatened, rare, whale
Species List:
Balaenoptera musculusblue whale
Balaenoptera physalusfin whale
Megaptera novaeangeliaehumpback whale
Eschrichtius robustusgray whale
Useful Resources:
Bennett, Ben. Field Guide to the Gray Whale. Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 1989.
Botkin, Daniel B.Our Natural History:The Lessons of Lewis and Clark.New York:G. P. Pittnam's Sons, 1995.
Burt, William Henry and Richard Philip Grossenheider. A Field Guide to Mammals of North America, PetersonField Guide Series. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980.
Dattilio, Daniel J.FortClatsop:The Story Behind the Scenery. Las Vegas:K C Publications, Inc., 1986.
Field, Nancy and Sally Machlis. Discovering Marine Mammals: A Learning and Activity Book. Corvallis:Dog-Eared Publications, 1987.
Field, Nancy and Sally Machlis.Discovering Endangered Species:A Nature Activity Book.Middleton:Dog-Eared Publications, 1994.
Useful Websites:
Discovering Lewis and Clark: A Legacy Website
Lewis and Clark on the Information Highway
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
NationalMuseum of Natural History
Background:
When Mr. Lewis’ Tour to the Pacific reached the Pacific Ocean, they mentioned many marine life sightings in their journals. On several occasions, whales or the remains of whales were noted on both sides of the mouth of the Columbia River where it meets the Pacific Ocean.
From their temporary station camp on the north side of the river, William Clark and a party of men walkedalong the shore of Haley’s Bay (present-day Baker Bay) on their way to the ocean. On November 18, 1805, they “…passed a low bluff of a small hite at 2 miles below which is the remains of huts [Chinook Indian houses] near which place is also the remains of a whale on the Sand, …” Clark marked the site of the whale remains site on his map.
One of the hunters with Clark’s party “Rubin Fields Killed a Buzzard of the large Kind near the meat of the whale we Saw: …” Clark, November 18, 1805
The next day, Clark and his party were walking up the sandy Pacific Ocean shore (present-dayLong BeachPeninsula) and he noted in his journals:
“I proceeded on the SandyCoast 4 miles, and marked my name on a Small
pine, the Day of the month & year, &c. and returned to the foot of the hill,
from which place I intended to Strike across to The Bay, I saw a Sturgeon
which had been thrown on Shore and left by the tide 10 feet in length, and
Several joints of the back bone of a whale which must have foundered on
this part of the Coast.”Clark, November 19, 1805
In December 1805 after the Corps of Discovery built their winter encampment (Fort Clatsop) on the Netul River on the south side of the Columbia River near the Pacific Ocean, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were told of a dead whale on the beach near a Killamox (Nehalem band of the Tillamook Indians) village (near present-day Cannon Beach, OR) another 10 miles south of the expedition’s salt makers camp (in present-day Seaside, OR) 15 miles southwest of the fort.
“we were informed day before yesterday that a whale had foundered on the
coast to the S.W. near the Kil a mox N. [Nation] and the greater part of the
Clat Sops were gorn for the oile & blubber, …”
Clark, December 29, 1805
Clark formed a party of men to go see the stranded whale and hopefully to purchase some of the blubber from the dead marine mammal. Sacagawea insisted on accompanying the party as she had not had a chance to see the Pacific Ocean since the group’s arrival at the mouth of the Columbia River. Now, she had the opportunity to see the big “fish” too.
Upon reaching a village of the Nehalem band of Tillamook Indians on January 8, 1806, Clark described the dead “monster” and was able to purchase blubber and oil to add to the diet of the expedition members.
“… I saw 5 Lodges of Indian of the Cal la mix nation, boiling whale in a trough
of about 20 gallons with hote Stones, and the oyle they put into a Canoe I
proceded on a Short distance to the whale which was nothing more than the
Sceleton, of 105 feet long, we took out a few bones…”
“… the Small Stock of merchindize I had taken with me were not able to
procure more blubber than about 300 wt. and a fiew gallons of oil; Small as
this Stock is I prise it highly; and thank providence for directing the whale
to us; and think him much more kind to us than he was to jonah, having Sent
this monster to be Swallowed by us in Sted of Swallowing of us as jonah’s
did.”
This is the only information Clark told about the beached whale. Scientists and historians debate what species of whale it was that Clark saw stranded on the beach in January, 1806. Some people believe it was a gray whale because they migrate southward in large numbers close to shore at that time of year. Otherpeople feel that it was a rare blue whale because of the size mentioned by Clark in his journals. There are also several other whale species that frequent the North Pacific waters that are in the size range between the gray whale (50 feet inlength) and the blue whale (100 feet in length) that could be possibilities.These are the fin whale and the humpback whale. We will never know for certain what species of whale it was.
Activities:
1.Have students research and create a display about whales. It must include at least
the following species:
blue whale(Balaenoptera musculus)
fin whale(Balaenoptera physalus)
humpback whale(Megaptera novaeangeliae)
gray whale(Eschrichtius robustus)
2.Have the students read aloud the information on the “This Monster on theSand”handout(p. 6).
3.Size comparison activity:
a.Have five students make five large signs with one each of thefollowing
texts:
1)“Tip of the Whale’s Jaw”
2)“Gray Whale’s Tail --- 50 feet”
3)“Humpback Whale’s Tail --- 65 feet”
4)“Fin Whale’s Tail --- 80 feet”
5)“Blue Whale’s Tail --- 105 feet”
b.Have students measure each other’s arm span, record themeasurement and
remember it for use in this activity.
c.Now, have the entire class go outdoors (or in the schools longest hall ifthe
weather is bad). The five students who made the postersmentioned above
will bring their posters with them.
d.Have the students form a straight line by standing at arms lengthside-by-side.The person with the “Tip of the Whale’s Jaw” posterwill be the first person in line.
e.As each student joins the line, he/she will add their arm spanmeasurement
to the tally sheet on the clipboard. When the linebecomes50 feet long,
the person with the “Gray Whale’s Tail --- 50feet” poster will stand in the
line at that place. This will formahuman chain 50 feet long. The length of
a humpback whale.
f.Have the students continue the process of making the human chain.At65
feet, the person with the “HumpbackWhale Tail --- 65 feet” poster will
stand in the line at that place. At 80 feet, the person with the “Fin Whale’s
Tail --- 80 feet” poster will stand in the line at that place.
g.Have the students continue the process of making a human chain untilit is
105 feet long. The person with the “Blue Whale’s Tail --- 105feet” poster
will stand at the end of the line. This is the length of ablue whale.
h.Have a class discussion about the possible kind of whale that Clarksaw
stranded on the beach in January, 1806.
Assessment:
1.Have each student complete the “From the Blue to the Gray” sheet. Itincludes
the student’s decision about which whale he/she believes wasstranded on the
beach and the explanation as to why he/she made thatchoice. Encourage students
to justify their selections.
2.The class can tally the number of students who selected each whale speciesto learn
the popular opinion. As to the answer: we do not know. Scientistsand historians
are still debating the issue. For the Nehalem band of theTillamook Indians whose
village was near where the whale washed ashore, itmay have been a gift in the cycle
of life.
Extension:
1.Students can research the role of the whale in traditional American Indian culture
ofvarious Pacific Northwest Coast Indian tribes.
2.In modern times, many whale species have become threatened orendangered due to
changing ocean conditions, historic whaling practices,advanced technology used in
whaling industry, and the impact of commercialfisheries on the marine food web.
Students can research the status (rare,threatened or endangered) for the blue,
fin, humpback and gray whales.
“This Monster on the Sand”
December 1805A whale washed up on the Pacific beach near a village of theNehalem band of Tillamook Indians.This was not a commonoccurrence.The site was about 25 miles southwest of FortClatsop, the temporary winter encampment of the Corps ofVolunteers for North Western Discovery.
January 8, 1806“… we … proceeded to the place the whale had perished, foundonly the Skelleton of this monster on the Sand … the Whale wasalready pillaged of every valuable part … this Skeletonmeasured 105 feet.” - William Clark
Gray whalesmigrate every year past the coast of Washington and Oregon ontheir way between their wintering grounds off Baja California inMexico and their summering grounds in the waters of Alaska.They migrate south in December and January, and travel northin March and April.An adult male gray whale is 45-50 feet inlength.
Humpback whalesmigrate every year from their summering grounds in the watersof Alaska to their wintering grounds off the islands of Hawaii.An adult male humpback whale is 60-65 feet in length.
Fin whalesfrequent the waters of the North Pacific Ocean.An adult malefin whale is 70-80 feet in length.
Blue whalesare the largest of the baleen whales and live in the deeperparts of the world’s oceans.They are rarely seen within sightof land.An adult male blue whale is 100 feet in length.
From the Blue to the Grayworksheet
Name:Date:
William Clark saw the skeleton of a whale on the beach near one of the villages of the Nehalem band of the Tillamook Indians.Which species of whale do you think it was?
Write your answer and explain why you made this selection.
I believe the remains of the whale William Clark saw stranded on the beach in January 1806 was a:
I chose this species of whale for the following reasons:
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