Musselshell River

Musselshell River
Map of Montana rivers with the Musselshell in the center
Location
CountiesPetroleum, Phillips, Rosebud, Musselshell, Golden Valley and Wheatland County, Montana
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • coordinates46°18′56.1″N 110°39′53.7″W / 46.315583°N 110.664917°W / 46.315583; -110.664917 (South Fork Musselshell River)[1]
Mouth 
 • coordinates
47°22′29″N 107°56′35″W / 47.37472°N 107.94306°W / 47.37472; -107.94306 (Musselshell River)[1]
 • elevation
2,247 ft (685 m)[1]
Length342 mi (550 km)
Basin size9,570 sq mi (24,800 km2)
Discharge 
 • average253 cu ft/s (7.2 m3/s)[2]
Basin features
River systemMissouri River

The Musselshell River is a tributary of the Missouri River, 341.9 miles (550.2 km) long from its origins at the confluence of its North and South Forks near Martinsdale, Montana to its mouth on the Missouri River. It is located east of the Continental divide entirely within Montana in the United States.[3] Counting its pre-confluence tributaries, it measures 425–500 miles (684–805 km) in length.[4][5]

It rises in several forks in the Crazy, Little Belt, and Castle mountains in central Montana. The main branch is formed by the confluence of the North Fork and South Fork in Meagher County, about 25 miles (40 km) east of White Sulphur Springs, Montana, just east of Martinsdale, north of Martinsdale Reservoir, and just west of Meagher County's border with Wheatland County.[5][6] The North Fork flows south from the Little Belt Mountains through Bair Reservoir, then southeast. The South Fork flows northeast from the Crazy Mountains. From the confluence of these two waterways, the main branch flows roughly due east past Two Dot, Harlowton, and Roundup, then turns north just past Melstone, and continues to the UL Bend on the Missouri River at the beginning of Fort Peck Reservoir.[3][5][6]

The Musselshell River has also been known as: Cockkleshell River, Mahtush-ahzhah, Muscleshell River, Mustleshell River, Shell River.[1] The Musselshell was entered by the Lewis and Clark Expedition on May 20, 1805 and named by them for the freshwater mussels lining the bank,[7] noting in their journals that the Minnetare people had given the waterway a similar name.[8][9] The Blackfeet, who hunted buffalo and prepared the meat for winter in the Musselshell area, called it the Dried Meat River.[10]

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  2. ^ Near Mosby,~60 mi from mouth
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference mtfish1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  5. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference mra was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference hwy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference wpa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).