The
Jefferson River is a
tributaryA tributary is a stream or river which flows into a main stem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body...
of the
Missouri RiverThe Missouri River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, and is the longest river in the United States of America. The Missouri likely originates at Brower's Spring at the upper reaches of the Jefferson, before joining the confluence of the Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin rivers in Montana....
, approximately long, in the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
of
MontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of the state contains numerous mountain ranges; other 'island' ranges are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
.
The Jefferson River and the
Madison RiverThe Madison River is a headwater tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 183 miles long, in Wyoming and Montana. Its confluence with the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers near Three Forks, Montana form the Missouri River....
form the official beginning of the Missouri at
Missouri Headwaters State ParkMissouri Headwaters State Park is a Montana state park that marks the official start of the Missouri River. It includes the Three Forks of the Missouri National Historic Landmark.It is located near Three Forks, Montana at an elevation of ....
near
Three ForksThree Forks is a city in Gallatin County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,728 at the 2000 census. Three Forks is named because it lies near the point, in Missouri Headwaters State Park, where the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin Rivers converge to form the Missouri River.The three...
. It is joined downstream (northeast) by the
GallatinThe Gallatin River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 120 mi , in the U.S. states of Wyoming and Montana...
.
The
Lewis and Clark ExpeditionThe Lewis and Clark Expedition was the first overland expedition undertaken by the United States to the Pacific coast and back. The expedition team was headed by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and assisted by Sacajawea and Toussaint Charbonneau. The expedition's goal was to gain an accurate...
visited the site on 28 July 1805.
Meriwether LewisMeriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark, whose mission was to explore the territory of the Louisiana Purchase.- Biography :Lewis...
in his journal entry wrote:
- Both Capt. C. and myself corresponded in opinon with rispect[sic] to the impropriety of calling either of these [three] streams the Missouri and accordingly agreed to name them after the President of the United States
The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
and the Secretaries of the TreasuryThe United States Secretary of the Treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, concerned with finance and monetary matters, and, until 2003, some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United States is analogous to the...
and stateThe United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence. The current Secretary of...
.
The Lewis and Clark decision not to call the Jefferson (named for President
Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States , the principal author of the Declaration of Independence , and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States...
) the Missouri has spurred debate over what is the longest river in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
since the Missouri and
MississippiThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
are nearly identical in length.
The
Jefferson River is a
tributaryA tributary is a stream or river which flows into a main stem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body...
of the
Missouri RiverThe Missouri River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, and is the longest river in the United States of America. The Missouri likely originates at Brower's Spring at the upper reaches of the Jefferson, before joining the confluence of the Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin rivers in Montana....
, approximately long, in the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
of
MontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of the state contains numerous mountain ranges; other 'island' ranges are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
.
The Jefferson River and the
Madison RiverThe Madison River is a headwater tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 183 miles long, in Wyoming and Montana. Its confluence with the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers near Three Forks, Montana form the Missouri River....
form the official beginning of the Missouri at
Missouri Headwaters State ParkMissouri Headwaters State Park is a Montana state park that marks the official start of the Missouri River. It includes the Three Forks of the Missouri National Historic Landmark.It is located near Three Forks, Montana at an elevation of ....
near
Three ForksThree Forks is a city in Gallatin County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,728 at the 2000 census. Three Forks is named because it lies near the point, in Missouri Headwaters State Park, where the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin Rivers converge to form the Missouri River.The three...
. It is joined downstream (northeast) by the
GallatinThe Gallatin River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 120 mi , in the U.S. states of Wyoming and Montana...
.
The
Lewis and Clark ExpeditionThe Lewis and Clark Expedition was the first overland expedition undertaken by the United States to the Pacific coast and back. The expedition team was headed by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and assisted by Sacajawea and Toussaint Charbonneau. The expedition's goal was to gain an accurate...
visited the site on 28 July 1805.
Meriwether LewisMeriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark, whose mission was to explore the territory of the Louisiana Purchase.- Biography :Lewis...
in his journal entry wrote:
- Both Capt. C. and myself corresponded in opinon with rispect[sic] to the impropriety of calling either of these [three] streams the Missouri and accordingly agreed to name them after the President of the United States
The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
and the Secretaries of the TreasuryThe United States Secretary of the Treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, concerned with finance and monetary matters, and, until 2003, some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United States is analogous to the...
and stateThe United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence. The current Secretary of...
.
The Lewis and Clark decision not to call the Jefferson (named for President
Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States , the principal author of the Declaration of Independence , and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States...
) the Missouri has spurred debate over what is the longest river in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
since the Missouri and
MississippiThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
are nearly identical in length. The Missouri traditionally had been called the longest river on the continent. However, of it have been trimmed off in channeling so that it is now sometimes referred as second to the Mississippi in terms of length. If the Jefferson were included in the Missouri length, it would still be considered the longest river.
The utmost headwaters of the Missouri are subject to debate, but both locations ultimately drain into the Jefferson. Lewis on August 12, 1805, said he visited the headwaters on Trail Creek just above
Lemhi PassLemhi Pass is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains, on the Montana-Idaho border on the continental divide, at an elevation of 7373 feet above sea level....
on the
Continental DivideThe Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Divide or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from, those river systems which drain into the...
in the Beaverhead Mountains at around which he described:
- the most distant fountain of the waters of the mighty Missouri in surch[sic] of which we have spent so many toilsome days and wristless[sic] nights.
However in 1888
Jacob V. BrowerJacob Vandenberg Brower was a prolific writer of the Upper Midwest region of the United States who championed the location and protection of the utmost headwaters of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.He was born in Michigan and moved to Minnesota...
, who had championed turning the headwaters of the Mississippi River into a
MinnesotaMinnesota is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.2 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the...
state park, visited another site which today is believed to be the furthest point on the Missouri — now called
Brower's SpringBrower's Spring is a spring in the Centennial Mountains of Montana that is believed to be the ultimate headwaters of the Missouri River.The spring is named for Jacob V. Brower who in 1896 declared it to be the source of the Missouri in The Missouri: Its Utmost Source...
. Brower published his finding in 1896 in "The Missouri: Its Utmost Source."
Brower's Spring lies at around in the Centennial Mountains. The site is marked by a rock pile at the source of Hell Roaring Creek which flows into Red Rock River. The Red Rock River rises in the Centennial Mountains near the Continental Divide in southwestern
Beaverhead CountyBeaverhead County is the largest county by area in the U.S. state of Montana. As of 2000, the population is 9,202. Its county seat is Dillon. Much of the perimeter of the county is the Continental Divide, including all of its border with the state of Idaho. The divide heads east into Montana at...
, near Montana's border with
IdahoIdaho is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans." Idaho was admitted to the Union on 3 July 1890 as the 43rd state....
, also the Continental Divide.
It flows west through Upper and Lower Red Rock
lakeA lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all. Another definition is, a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size that is surrounded by land...
s, then NNW past
LimaLima is a town in Beaverhead County, Montana, United States. The population was 242 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lima is located at ....
to the
Clark Canyon ReservoirClark Canyon Dam is an earthfill dam located in Beaverhead County, Montana, about 20 miles south of the county seat of Dillon. The dam impounds the waters of the Beaverhead River, creating a body of water known as Clark Canyon Reservoir...
, where it becomes the Beaverhead River. As the Beaverhead, the river flows NNE past
DillonDillon is a city in and the county seat of Beaverhead County, Montana, United States. The population was 3,752 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dillon is located at , at an altitude of 5102 feet...
. Near
Twin BridgesTwin Bridges is a town in Madison County, Montana, United States. It lies at the confluence of the Ruby, Beaverhead and Big Hole Rivers which form the Jefferson River. Twin Bridges is a well known fly fishing mecca for trout fisherman...
, the Beaverhead is joined by the
Ruby RiverThe Ruby River is a tributary of the Beaverhead River, approximately 76 mi long, in southwestern Montana in the United States. It rises in the Beaverhead National Forest in southwestern Madison County near Barton Gulch, between the Snowcrest Range and the Gravelly Range...
and the
Big Hole RiverThe Big Hole River is a tributary of the Jefferson River, approximately
153 miles long, in southwestern Montana in the United States...
, and continues as the Jefferson River north and east. Near
CardwellCardwell is a census-designated place in Jefferson County, Montana, United States. The population was 40 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Helena Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Cardwell is located at ....
, it receives the
Boulder RiverThe Boulder River is a tributary of the Jefferson River, approximately 71 mi long, in southwestern Montana in the United States.It rises in the Rocky Mountains at the continental divide in the Deerlodge National Forest in western Jefferson County...
, and flows east to form the Missouri where it meets the Madison and Gallatin northeast of Three Forks, approximately WNW of
BozemanBozeman is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. With a population of 27,509 at the 2000 census, Bozeman is the fifth largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the Bozeman micropolitan area, which consists of...
.
The river is a Class I water from its origin at the Beaverhead and Big Hole rivers to its confluence with the Missouri at Three Forks for the purposes of public access for recreational purposes.
Advocates
- Jefferson River Watershed Council — The mission of the Jefferson River Watershed Council is to coordinate efforts, through a spirit of community cooperation and sharing, that will enhance, conserve, and protect the natural resources, quality of life, and economic vitality of the Jefferson River watershed.
- Trout Unlimited — Trout Unlimited
Trout Unlimited is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of freshwater streams, rivers, and associated upland habitats for trout, salmon, other aquatic species, and people. Often contracted as "TU," the organization began in 1959 in Michigan...
's mission is to conserve, protect and restore North America's coldwater fisheries and their watersheds.
- Western Watersheds Project — The mission of Western Watersheds Project is to protect and restore western watersheds and wildlife through education, public policy initiatives and litigation.
- Montana River Action — The clean flowing waters of Montana belong to the people and are held in trust by the State for a pollution-free healthful environment guaranteed by our Montana Constitution. Montana River Action's mission is to protect and restore rivers, streams and other water bodies.