Library of Congress, Boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase as Recognized Today

This map, created by the Library of Congress, shows the boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase as recognized today. When the United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France in 1802, neither party knew the exact boundaries of the territory. At the time all the representatives knew was that the territory was bordered by the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and the Mississippi River on the east. After the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory, they began to explore the territory by sending out expeditions to chart the unknown land, the most famous of which was the Lewis and Clark transcontinental expedition. These explorations resulted in the creation of more accurate maps depicting the territory and its geographical features, slowly revealing the boundaries. This map shows just how large the Louisiana Purchase was, and how many current states it covers. The amount of land within the Louisiana Territory is estimated to be between 850,000 to 885,000 square miles.