The sculpture commemorates the visit by members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition's Corps of Discovery in January 1806, including William Clark and Sacagawea, who explored the area to investigate reports of a beached whale.

The underside of its proper right flipper contains an unintelligible signature by the artist which may read "Hartwick".

[2] The original artist that carved the wood sculpture was Gregory Alan Hartwick.

[citation needed] The original cedar sculpture has since been replaced by a cast metal replica.

[2] Whale has been included in at least one published guided tour, called "Oregon's Coast, Mountains, Columbia River Gorge and Wine".