Flowing from its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains of Southwestern Montana, the Missouri River is the longest river in the United States.
It drifts across Montana, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri, where it meets the Mississippi River, providing water and sustenance to the Great Plains along the way.
We will take a close look at the Missouri River, and look at everything from its history to its geography:
The Missouri River – A Complete Guide
The Missouri River starts in the Rocky Mountains at Three Forks, Montana. From there it flows approx. 2,342 miles across the United States. It stops in Missouri, from which it gets its name. The Missouri River river covers roughly 500,000 square miles and crosses through two Canadian provinces and through 10 American states.
History of the Missouri River
The Missouri River is believed to have first formed approximately 30 million years ago and has undergone countless changes to its course since then. The current course that the river follows is estimated to have formed 115,000 years ago.
Prior to European settlement, Native American peoples lived in the area surrounding the Upper Missouri River. Some of the tribes known to have lived in the area include the Blackfeet, Hidatsa, and Crow. The Missouri River was also used for trade, prayer, and burial by Native American tribes, and it remains a place of spiritual practices and burials.
In 1673, French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet came across the mouth of the Missouri while they were traveling down the Mississippi River. On early French maps, the river was called Peki-tan-oui. Later, it was referred to as Oumessourit.
According to the Missouri River Paddler, the word Ouemessorita comes from the Algonquian dialect. This was the name given to the Shiwere people living along the river of the same name, by the Illinois tribe.
Fur traders began to explore upstream in the early 18th century; notable trading companies who used the river included the Spanish Commercial Company, Saint Louis Missouri Fur Company, Columbia Fur Company, and the Rocky Mountain Fur Company.
But it wasn’t until the Lewis and Clark Expedition between 1804 and 1805 that the river was first explored in its entirety, from mouth to headwaters.
Steamboat traffic began on the river in 1830 with the American Fur Company, which reached its peak in 1858. Paddle steamers also helped settlement in the Dakotas and Montana. In the 1860s, steamboats used the river to provide transportation to mining towns in response to the gold rush, and to farms in Nebraska.
The Missouri River eventually became the gateway to the major trails that opened the American West, including the California, Mormon, Oregon, and Santa Fe Trails. However, due to the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railway, which traveled to St. Joseph, Missouri, steamboat traffic on the Missouri River later declined.
The Hannibal Bridge in Kansas City was the first bridge built across the river in 1869.
While primarily used as transportation to support trade and commercial activities, the Missouri River was still not developed as a major water