The Whale

Photo: 94-Foot-Long Blue Whale Model, Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY.

This page highlights the 14 to 15-mile journey from Fort Clatsop to the Pacific coast by Captain Clark and party to see the beached whale.

What type of whale could this have been? According to Clark’s measurement of the skeleton, the mammal was 105 feet long thus leading us to believe it was a blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), which often grow to 100 feet. However, some feel blue whales aren’t likely to have still been this far north in mid-winter, but would have already migrated to warmer waters to the south.

Others think that Clark simply mis-measured. Granted, measuring a skeleton that’s been harvested for the meat and blubber would have been difficult and less than accurate. But the only other large whale to likely have been in this area would have been a gray whale, which rarely exceeds 50 feet in length. And who should question the ability of Captain Clark, who so accurately measured and mapped every step of the journey?