Everything about Missouri River Basin totally explained
The
Missouri River Valley outlines the journey of the
Missouri River from its
headwaters where the
Madison,
Jefferson and
Gallatin Rivers flow together in
Montana to its
confluence with the
Mississippi River in the
State of Missouri. At long the valley drains one-sixth of the United States, and is the longest river valley on the North American continent. The valley in the Missouri River
basin includes
river bottoms and
floodplains.
Geography
The Missouri's valley ranges from to wide from edge to edge, with gentle slopes from the adjacent upland to the valley floor. Other segments are narrow, less than two miles (3 km) wide, with rugged valley sides. Generally, the wide segments trend west-east and the narrow segments trend north-south.
Starting in the state of
Montana, the Missouri River Valley travels through
South Dakota, forms the shared border of eastern
Nebraska and western
Iowa, goes into
Kansas and then eastward through the state of
Missouri. The valley travels through several distinct
ecoregions with distinct climate, geology and native species.
The
Loess Hills are a unique geographic feature of the valley.
Loess, a wind-deposited soil, is compounded in slowly rising hills at various points in extreme eastern portions of Nebraska and Kansas along the Missouri River Valley, particularly near the Nebraska cities of
Brownville,
Rulo,
Plattsmouth,
Fort Calhoun, and
Ponca, rising no more than above the Missouri River bottoms. The majority of these hills stretch along the east side of the river, from
Westfield, Iowa in the north to
Mound City, Missouri in the south.
Flooding
Channeling and levee construction have altered how floods affect the Missouri River Valley. Several large floods have affected the valley since Europeans first came into the area. The first recorded event is the
Great Flood of 1844, which crested in
Kansas City on
July 16,
1844, discharged per second. The
Great Flood of 1951 discharged per second, cresting on
July 14,
1951. This flood devastated the lower Missouri River Valley, including Kansas City, along a reach of river where there was no
levee system. The Kansas City Stockyards were destroyed and the city was forced to move the development of an airport away from the Missouri River bottoms. The
Great Flood of 1993 discharged at per second and devastated much of the upper valley.
Culture
The culture of the Missouri River Valley predates European settlement by thousands of years. The first development of a unique European-driven culture dates to the 1850s when steamboats plied the river. The Missouri River Valley Culture, or "Steamboat Society," was first defined by non-Indian residents of the Dakotas who sold wood to steamboats or
trapped furs along the river bottoms. Gambling, prostitution and illegal alcohol sales to American Indians fueled the growth of the culture, which eventually included
outfitters, livestock ranchers and
tribal agents. A line of urbanized centers grew along the river in response which bloomed when reservations were alloted throughout the region.
Uniting themselves along the banks of the river, South Dakotans identify themselves even today as "East River" or "West River". According to the
University of South Dakota, the associated present-day culture of the Missouri River Valley contains a broad swath of political, social, historic, and artistic perspectives.
Management
The
Flood Control Act of 1944 introduced the
Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program. Designed to benefit the entirety of the Missouri River Basin including the valley, the plan sought to meet the needs of residents throughout the area by providing
irrigation systems and
reservoirs for storing water where needed, along with
hydroelectric power,
flood control measures, and navigational improvement.
The government didn't complete the comprehensive plan for the valley, instead introducing individual projects, including the construction of six dams. They are the
Fort Peck Dam in Montana, the
Garrison Dam in North Dakota, the
Oahe,
Big Bend, and
Fort Randall Dams in South Dakota, and the
Gavins Point Dam in Nebraska and South Dakota. The channel of the Missouri was also improved extensively along with the development of ports such as the
one in Omaha throughout the 1950s and 60s for greater volumes of traffic on the river, which have never come to fruition.
Protected areas
Following at a distance of years the first recorded exploration of the majority of the valley by the
Lewis and Clark expedition (1804-06), there have been numerous attempts at preserving the natural habitats of the Missouri River Valley, spurred in its early days by concerns of
duck hunters, for the Missouri basin lies across a major migration toutes, the
Central Flyway, and in the river's lower reaches, the
Mississippi Flyway. Today there are several
protected areas throughout the course of the Missouri River Valley. They include the
Theodore Roosevelt National Park,
Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri and the
DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge in Nebraska. The
Katy Trail travels along the valley in Missouri. Other protected areas in the valley include:
Further Information
Get more info on 'Missouri River Basin'.
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