Missouri River

For other uses, see Missouri (disambiguation).

Missouri River
Pekitanoui,[1] Big Muddy,[2] Mighty Mo, Wide Missouri, Kícpaarukstiʾ,[3] Mnišoše[4][5]
The Missouri River in Montana
Map of the Missouri River and its tributaries in
North America
EtymologyThe Missouri tribe, whose name in turn meant "people with wooden canoes"[1]
Native nameMnišóše (Lakota)[4][5]
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMontana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri
CitiesGreat Falls, MT, Bismarck, ND, Pierre, SD, Sioux City, IA, Omaha, NE, Brownville, NE, Saint Joseph, MO, Kansas City, KS, Kansas City, MO, St. Louis, MO
Physical characteristics
SourceBrower's Spring
 • locationnear Brower's Spring, Montana
 • coordinates44°33′02″N 111°28′21″W / 44.55056°N 111.47250°W / 44.55056; -111.47250[6][7]
 • length295 mi (475 km)
 • elevation9,100 ft (2,800 m)
2nd sourceFirehole River–Madison River
 • locationMadison Lake, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
 • coordinates44°20′55″N 110°51′53″W / 44.34861°N 110.86472°W / 44.34861; -110.86472[8]
 • length183 mi (295 km)
 • elevation8,215 ft (2,504 m)
Source confluenceMissouri Headwaters State Park
 • locationThree Forks, Montana
 • coordinates45°55′39″N 111°20′39″W / 45.92750°N 111.34417°W / 45.92750; -111.34417[1]
 • elevation4,042 ft (1,232 m)
MouthMississippi River
 • location
Spanish Lake, near St. Louis, Missouri
 • coordinates
38°48′49″N 90°07′11″W / 38.81361°N 90.11972°W / 38.81361; -90.11972[1]
 • elevation
404 ft (123 m)[1]
Length2,341 mi (3,767 km)[9]
Basin size529,350 sq mi (1,371,000 km2)[10]
Discharge 
 • locationHermann, MO; RM 97.9 (RKM 157.6)[11]
 • average87,520 cu ft/s (2,478 m3/s)[11]
 • minimum602 cu ft/s (17.0 m3/s)[11]
 • maximum750,000 cu ft/s (21,000 m3/s)[12]
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftJefferson, Dearborn, Sun, Marias, Milk, James, Big Sioux, Grand, Chariton
 • rightMadison, Gallatin, Yellowstone, Little Missouri, Cheyenne, White, Niobrara, Platte, Kansas, Osage, Gasconade
TypeWild, Scenic, Recreational


Map

The Missouri River is a river in the Central and Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest,[13] it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Mountains of southwestern Montana, then flows east and south for 2,341 miles (3,767 km)[9] before entering the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, Missouri. The river drains semi-arid watershed of more than 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 km2), which includes parts of ten U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. Although a tributary of the Mississippi, the Missouri River is slightly longer[14] and carries a comparable volume of water.[11][15] When combined with the lower Mississippi River, it forms the world's fourth-longest river system.[13]

For over 12,000 years, people have depended on the Missouri River and its tributaries as a source of sustenance and transportation. More than ten major groups of Native Americans populated the watershed, with most leading a nomadic lifestyle and dependent on enormous bison herds that roamed through the Great Plains. The first Europeans encountered the river in the late seventeenth century, and the region passed through Spanish and French hands before becoming part of the United States through the Louisiana Purchase.

The Missouri River was one of the main routes for the westward expansion of the United States during the 19th century. The growth of the fur trade in the early 19th century laid much of the groundwork as trappers explored the region and blazed trails. Pioneers headed west en masse beginning in the 1830s, first by covered wagon, then by the growing numbers of steamboats that entered service on the river. Conflict between settlers and Native Americans in the watershed led to some of the most longstanding and violent of the American Indian Wars.

During the 20th century, the Missouri River basin was extensively developed for irrigation, flood control, and the generation of hydroelectric power. Fifteen dams impound the main stem of the river, with hundreds more on tributaries. Meanders have been cut off and the river channelized to improve navigation, reducing its length by almost 200 miles (320 km) from pre-development times. Although the lower Missouri valley is now a populous and highly productive agricultural and industrial region, heavy development has taken its toll on wildlife and fish populations as well as water quality.

  1. ^ a b c d e "Missouri River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. October 24, 1980. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
  2. ^ "Spotlight on the Big Muddy" (PDF). Missouri Stream Team. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  3. ^ "AISRI Dictionary Database Search—prototype version. "River", Southband Pawnee". American Indian Studies Research Institute. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Karolevitz, Robert F.; Hunhoff, Bernie (1988). Uniquely South Dakota. Donning Company. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-89865-730-2. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  5. ^ a b Ullrich, Jan, ed. (2011). New Lakota Dictionary (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Lakota Language Consortium. ISBN 978-0-9761082-9-0. LCCN 2008922508.
  6. ^ [1] Archived October 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine USGS topographic map of the source
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference headwaters was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Madison Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. April 4, 1980. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Missouri River Environmental Assessment Program Summary". U.S. Geological Survey. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Story was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference missouriflow was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Pinter, Nicholas; Heine, Reuben A. "Hydrologic History of the Lower Missouri River". Geology Department. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  13. ^ a b Howard Perlman, USGS (October 31, 2012). "Lengths of major rivers". Ga.water.usgs.gov. USGS Water-Science School. Archived from the original on March 9, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference USGS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference MississippiStLouis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).