After breaking camp on May 4, 1806, on a cold and disagreeable morning, the Lewis and Clark Expedition crossed Alpáha (Alpowa) Summit just north of here and noted the richness of the soil. Meriwether Lewis wrote that the lands through which they passed were fertile, consisting of a dark rich loam, and both Lewis and William Clark remarked on the abundance of qém'es, or camas, a root much valued by the native people. American Indians harvested a variety of plants in this rich soil, and qém'es was one of the most important because its nutritious bulbs served as a major food source and trade good throughout the West. The expedition encountered qém'es in various forms, including dried, powdered, and boiled, and observed that many of the Chopunnish were distributed in small villages across the plain collecting it. Today, the area is one of the world's most productive agricultural regions, where farmers grow wheat, dry peas and lentils, barley, and many other crops, while American Indians continue to harvest qém'es in the wet meadows of the area.