expedition journals
Field notes, bound
Expedition journals are written records kept during exploratory voyages or scientific expeditions, documenting observations, discoveries, and daily experiences.
They serve as primary sources for geography, natural history, and anthropology: Lewis and Clark's expedition journals remain essential to understanding early American exploration.
The term also applies to published accounts based on such records.
- observationsNoted perceptions
- field notesDocumentation from fieldwork
- personal reflectionsIndividual contemplative observations
- sketchbooksBlank books for illustrations
- ink and paperMaterials for written records
cartography · scientific research · natural history · colonial expeditions · geological surveys · travelogues · fieldwork · handwritten manuscripts · Lewis and Clark · Louisiana Purchase · native guides · primary sources · navigation aid · storytelling · map · trail · overland journey · supply routes
expedition journalslibrary research
Systematic inquiry using collected texts
armchair philosophy · armchair travel · hearsay · thought experiments · deductive reasoning