Yellowstone River

Yellowstone River is the longest free-flowing river in the continental United States. It runs almost seven hundred miles, from just outside its namesake Yellowstone Park to its confluence with the Missouri River, which then joins the Mississippi River before ending in the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, the Yellowstone River passes through the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the Black Canyon, pours over waterfalls and rapids, spawns numerous streams, and flows through Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota. It plays an important role in ecosystems that sustain large populations of grizzly bears, bald eagles, and cutthroat troutto, along with numerous other species.

Background

The Yellowstone River was named by some of the indigenous people who lived along it for centuries. Minnetaree Native Americans called it Mi tse a-da-zi, which translates to Yellow Rock River. There are conflicting theories about why they gave it this name, but some experts believe it was because it flowed through yellow rock formations in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The first European explorers to arrive in the area in the early 1800s were French trappers, who translated the Minnetaree name to Roche Jaune, or Rock Yellow. Their English-speaking counterparts translated that to Yellowstone, and the name stuck as more and more Americans settled in the area. Other indigenous tribes had different names for the river. For example, the Crow people called it E-chee-dick-karsh-ah-shay, or Elk River.

Multiple native nations lived along the Yellowstone River for centuries before any Europeans arrived. Archaeologists discovered many implements made of Yellowstone-area obsidian by the Clovis people in areas where they lived and traded. This indicates that they and other paleo tribes were in the area for many decades.

The area around the river served as an important hunting and fishing ground for other Native Americans as well. The Cheyenne, Cree, Crow, and Lakota Sioux all spent summers hunting and fishing along the river and used it as a means of transportation. They considered the river and the land around it to be part of their ancestral heritage, a fact that would play a key role in the American Frontier Wars into the twentieth century.

At the time European and American explorers arrived in the early 1800s, they found members of the Shoshone, Crow, and Nez Perce nations living in the area. William Clark (1770–1838), co-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, explored the river on the group’s return trip east in 1806. Members of the expedition chose names for many of the river’s features, while others were named by later explorers through the nineteenth century.

Overview

The Yellowstone River starts in the Absaroka Mountain Range at Younts Peak, which is in Wyoming just past Yellowstone Park’s southeast edge. It enters the Yellowstone Lake, which is the largest high-elevation lake in North America. Yellowstone River is the only river among the 142 streams and tributaries that provide water to the lake, which covers 139 square miles (360 sq km) to an average depth of 138 feet (42m). The river is also the lake’s only outlet point; it leaves the lake at Fishing Bridge at rates of between 2,000 and 9,000 cubic feet per second (56 and 254 cubic meters per second), depending on the time of year.

From there, Yellowstone River flows north-northwest through Yellowstone Park. About three miles from Fishing Bridge are the LeHardy Rapids. This cascade is named for topographer Paul LeHardy, who in 1873 was toppled out of a raft that capsized while he and a partner were trying to navigate the cascading water, dumping much of the equipment for their expedition. Some scientists consider the rapids to be the northern geological boundary of the river because rising and falling water levels at the rapids appear to control outflow from Yellowstone Lake into Yellowstone River.

As it continues from LeHardy Rapids, the river drops 109 feet (33m) down the Upper Falls, one of three large waterfalls on the river within the park’s boundaries. Next, it plummets 308 feet (93m) at the Lower Falls before entering the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. At the end of this canyon, the Yellowstone River plunges again, this time dropping 132 feet (40 m) at Tower Falls. It then runs through Black Canyon before exiting the park at Gardiner, Montana.

The Yellowstone flows north and east for almost 700 miles (1,126km) across Montana. In this stretch, the river passes through Paradise Valley, where it contributes to more than one hundred miles of the state’s most popular fishing, canoeing, and tubing areas. It continues out of Montana to its confluence, or junction, with the Missouri River just across the North Dakota border. The combined waters of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers join with the Mississippi River before discharging into the Atlantic Ocean at the Gulf of Mexico.

Yellowstone River has numerous tributaries along its length. These include Big Horn River, Boulder River, Gardner River, Lamar River, Powder River, Shields River, Stillwater River, Tongue River, and Wind River. Several of these waterways are part of a water containment system that includes a dam, though the Yellowstone River itself has no dams. This makes it the longest remaining free-flowing river in the forty-eight continental United States. A dam project was proposed for the Yellowstone in the 2010s but was defeated over concerns of the effect it would have on the fish and animal population.

The river provides an important natural resource for both animals and humans all along its length. It is part of the ecosystem that supports numerous animal species, including grizzly bears, black bears, white tail deer, and elk. The American bald eagle also lives along the Yellowstone River corridor, fishing from its waters. The cutthroat trout, a native Yellowstone species, also spawns and lives in the river, as do rainbow trout and brown trout, along with other types of fish. The variety and prevalence of species has made the river a fishing destination for humans from prehistoric times to the twenty-first century. Many areas of the river are also used for kayaking, canoeing, floating, and similar water sports.

Bibliography

“The Exploration of Yellowstone.” United States Geological Service, 14 Mar. 2022, www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/exploration-yellowstone. Accessed 11 Aug. 2022.

Jawad, Nassib. “Yellowstone River.” World Atlas, 12 June 2022, www.worldatlas.com/rivers/yellowstone-river.html. Accessed 11 Aug. 2022.

“LeHardy Rapids.” National Park Service, 13 June 2022, www.nps.gov/places/000/lehardys-rapids.htm. Accessed 11 Aug. 2022.

“The Untamed Yellowstone River.” Yellowstone National Park Trips, 26 Mar. 2014, www.yellowstonepark.com/things-to-do/natural-wonders/untamed-yellowstone-river/. Accessed 11 Aug. 2022.

“Yellowstone.” National Park Service, 10 Jan. 2022, www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/yellowstone-river.htm. Accessed 11 Aug. 2022.

“Yellowstone River.” American Rivers, www.americanrivers.org/river/yellowstone-river/. Accessed 11 Aug. 2022.

“Yellowstone River.” Visit Montana, www.visitmt.com/listings/general/river/yellowstone-river. Accessed 11 Aug. 2022.

“Yellowstone River Fishing Guide.” Montana Angler, www.montanaangler.com/montana-fly-fishing-rivers/yellowstone-river-fishing-guides. Accessed 11 Aug. 2022.