The Missouri River is the longest waterway in the US, flowing through several states and parts of Canada. It played a significant role in the exploration of North America. The river has been modified by the US government to widen channels and create reservoirs for electricity generation, causing changes to natural habitats and endangering some species. Restoration efforts are ongoing.
The longest waterway in the United States, the Missouri River flows through many US states and parts of Canada. It takes in water from about one-sixth of the United States and enters the Mississippi River. Missouri is nicknamed the “Big Muddy” for its tendency to carry a lot of silt from the natural floodplains around the river. The river has played an important role in the exploration of the North American continent.
Where the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin rivers meet in Three Rocks, Montana, the Missouri River begins. For 2,341 miles (about 3,767 kilometers), the river flows southeast through North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas. It enters the state of Missouri and ends when it joins the Mississippi River in the city of St. Louis.
Native Americans who lived near the river called it Pekitanoui, meaning muddy. When European explorers arrived, they renamed it after a local tribe whose name meant “people with wooden canoes” or Missouri. The “Big Muddy” was also a nickname. The river was a gateway to the American West for adventurers.
After the land around Missouri was purchased from the French in 1803 in a transaction known as the Louisiana Purchase, then-President Thomas Jefferson wanted to find a waterway that ran across the Atlantic to the Pacific. Two men named Lewis and Clark led the expedition, and a Native American woman named Sacagawea was part of the team. Although they never found a way to the Pacific, Lewis and Clark made important discoveries on the lands they crossed and on the Missouri River itself.
Much development and change has been made to the river since the early white explorers first visited it. According to the US Geological Survey, the Missouri River flowed in many small channels and had many islands and sandbars between these channels. The movement of the water lifted and deposited silt and earth from one place to another, and so the appearance of the river changed regularly. The natural floodplains also allowed the river to expand and contract with changing weather conditions.
In the mid-1940s, US government programs modified the river to widen channels for easy navigability. Another major man-made modification to the Missouri River has been the creation of reservoirs to control flooding and to be used for electricity generation. Six dams have been built at various points along the river and have created new lake habitats where the river used to flow freely. Only one-third of modern riverine habitat is the same as before the alterations.
The natural habitats of many of the creatures that lived in, on or near the river were changed and some species became endangered. Endangered species in Missouri in the early 21st century include the plover, lesser inland tern, and pale sturgeon. The lakes at the dams have been good habitats for sport fishing and good environments for fish breeding and bird life. In 1986, the US government began restoring Missouri riverine habitats for native species, and restoration efforts and research are ongoing.
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