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Contents 1 Map 2 Longest River? 3 Discharge? 4 Confluence of Missouri and Mississippi above vs. north of St. Louis 5 Canadian drainage into the Gulf of Mexico 6 Correctness 7 True source 8 Montana Dams

[edit] Map

I like the geographic map at the top, but I'd also like to see a map of the river with state borders so I can quickly graphically see what states it goes through. --zandperl 15:12, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Longest River?

Missouri the "longest". See: List of rivers by length for discussion of considerations taken into account. Jerry picker 18:15, 15 March 2006 (UTC) 72.40.135.7 22:40, 21 March 2006 (UTC)uuuuuuuuuuuuuuh72.40.135.7 22:40, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

What is the longest river in the United States, the Mississippi or Missouri? Two different Wikipedia articles have different answers:

The Mississippi? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_River; "is the longest river in the United States; the second-longest is the Missouri River, which flows into the Mississippi")

The Missouri? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_River; "it is the longest river in the United States ").

The United States Geological Survey, a bureau of the Department of the Interior and official surveyor of the U.S. Government says it's the Missouri: ("http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/riversofworld.html").

georgephawley@comcast.net 216.241.240.30 22:08, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

Of course, the reason for this discrepancy rests in the underlying assumptions. When these assumptions are laid out, the reader can decide for themselves according to which basic principles they choose to subscribe. An absolute distinction is somewhat arbitrary and academic; it is clear that the Missouri is either the longest or second longest river in the US, and the difference is so close that it comes back to which set of criteria one wishes to apply. It is more educational and to-the-point to lay out these criteria for the sake of a thoughtful and applied geographical consideration of the question. The current language has been chosen with this in mind: "At about 2,315 mi (3,725 km) in length, it drains approximately one-sixth of the North American continent. Depending on whether its length is reckoned from the headwaters of its sources (as the Mississippi's length is reckoned from Lake Itasca, Minnesota), or from their confluence where the Missouri is first so-named (at Three Forks, Montana), it is currently either the longest or second-longest river in the United States. Prior to the Pick-Sloan Program and channelization, it was unquestionably the longest river in the US." Jerry picker 02:29, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Discharge?

The article lacks actual stats on the average discharge of the Missouri, something that most of the articles on major rivers seem to have (rather just having unquantified comparisons with the upstream Mississippi and the Ohio). Can anyone provide? Alai 22:16, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

According to a statement from the Army Corps of Engineers, "In an average year, the Missouri River provides about 45 percent of the flow of the Mississippi past St. Louis. During times of drought, that contribution could rise to as much as 70 percent." http://www.ibjonline.com/print_reducing_river_flow_levels.html Jerry picker 22:40, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Confluence of Missouri and Mississippi above vs. north of St. Louis

This has been changed back and forth several times between "above" and "north of". Please note that one formal definition of "above" (prep.) is "upstream of", which may more accurately describe the geographical situation of the Mississippi at its debouchement by the Missouri.Jerry picker 23:39, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

"Debouchment"? Wow....I thought I had a pretty good vocabulary, but you just sent me scurrying to my dictionary....  :-)

[edit] Canadian drainage into the Gulf of Mexico

Note: I've made a relatively minor edit to the main article to correct a misunderstanding that although the Milk River is the only river in Canada that drains into the Gulf of Mexico via the Missouri, it is not the only watershed in Canada that drains into the Gulf. The Poplar River (Saskatchewan-Montana) watershed extends into Canada even if the river itself does not. See also http://www.swa.ca/Maps/ (Saskatchewan Watershed Authority) Dzubint 20:10, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Correctness

Wow. This article is pretty well written. It looks pretty good. The picture describes the article. (Well) :) Atm153 00:55, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

I found a slight problem in the opening paragraph, but I don't see an edit link there. Maybe someone who knows how to make the change will read this.

The first paragraph says that the Missouri River drains 1/6 of the land area of the North American continent. There's no way that can be correct. Indeed, when you click on Footnote 1, the original government source says "1/6 of the United States." -- Bill B. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.112.86.189 (talk) 21:36, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] True source

I understand the logic behind the idea -- that a river's "true source" is that of its longest contributing tributary. But the term "true source" strikes me as odd. Many or even most rivers begin at a confluence of headwater streams. Perhaps it is the word "true" -- implying that the statement that the source of the Missouri is the confluence of the Jefferson and Gallatin is false. The atlas I have in front of me says right at the confluence "Missouri Headwaters". As a counter-example, is it false to say the Tennessee River begins at the confluence of the Holston River and French Broad River? Or better yet, is the "true source" of the Mississippi River Brower's Spring. Anyway... I almost edited the statement to be less absolute, without the word "true", but couldn't think of a good way to phrase it at the moment. Thoughts? I know it is a bit pedantic, but there must be a better way to say it, no? Pfly 05:26, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

This is Wikipedia...just say what YOU believe is the most accurate, and let the vox populi editors decide! Jerry picker 12:54, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

I gave it a quick try, calling it the "hydrologic source" and moving it down in the article. I'm inclined to think that the spring is best discussed in the "course" section, so that the intro/summary will make clear to the reader that the main topic discussed in the article is the river that begins at the Jefferson/Gallatin confluence. Does this help? --Malepheasant 14:10, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Well, the statement that 'the source of the Missouri is the confluence of the Jeffferson and Gallatin' is false! A river source is defined as 'the farthest point of the river stream from its estuary or its confluence with another river or stream' (with exceptions sometimes being where one confluence starts higher than another. The 'source' of the Missouri as given now is simply a tradition based on the fact that someone decided not to call the Jefferson the Missouri. But this is normal, because when tributaries are named often nobody knows which one will lead to the source. Compare the Amazon whose source is on the Ucayali river. Nobody would consider the source of the Amazon the point at which the Ucayali joins it. The same here. As a test, wade into the rive at the confluence of the Gallatin and the Jefferson and you'll find you can wonder a few more meters up the river :-) So in fact we should call the Brower's Spring just the source and the confluence as the traditional source. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 221.133.86.108 (talk • contribs)

The page river source seems clear to me. The first sentence is "The source of a river or stream is the origin of water flow that initiates the subject watercourse." On the subject of the watercourse named the "Missouri River", its source is the water flowing into the watercourse named "Missouri". That it is the confluence of other streams rather than water springing out of the ground doesn't matter. The source of the river called "Missouri" is that confluence, just as the source of the Ohio River is the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. This is the normal meaning of the term "source". When people calculate a river's total, longest length, regardless of the names of the upper tributaries, the term "source" is often used the way you describe. That usage is the exception, and when used one ought to mention the names of the upper streams. I agree that this kind of "total length" calculation is common for the longest rivers of the world or of a continent, like the Amazon and the Missouri. Still, just because the Missouri is very long does not change the normal meaning of "source". Just for fun, using your definition of "source", can you tell me where the source of the Potomac River is? How about the Tennessee River? The Mobile River? Pfly 22:27, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Montana Dams

There are more dams on the Missouri than just the Ft. Peck Dam. Great Falls, MT has five dams near the city; the Black Eagle Dam, Rainbow Dam, Cochrane Dam, Ryan Dam, and the Morony Dam. Upstream of Great Falls are the Holter Dam, Hauser Dam, Canyon Ferry Dam, and the Hosten Dam. See List of crossings of the Missouri River.Andercee 23:50, 10 September 2007 (UTC)