MISSOURI HEADVATERS 



Rivers: Jefferson, Madison, Gallatin 



Boundaries: Headwaters to Three Forks 



Drainage size: 13,513 square miles 



Main stem lengths: Madison 133 miles; Gallatin 115 miles; 



Jefferson 84 miles 



Cities/Towns: Cameron, Ennis, Gallatin Gateway, Bozeman, 



Manhattan, Silver Star, Cardwell, Three Forks 



Access: U.S. Highway 191, 10 and 287, Montana 41, 55, 286 and 85 



The three headwater streams of the Missouri River emerge from 

 their origins in Yellowstone National Park and four mountain 

 ranges in southwestern Montana, flow through semi-arid valleys of 

 sagebrush and grass, and converge at Three Forks. The Jefferson, 

 Madison, and Gallatin rivers drain a portion of the Continental 

 Divide, and the Madison, Spanish Peaks, Gallatin, Tobacco Root, 

 and Gravelly mountain ranges (Figure 7). Many of the peaks reach 

 above 10,000 feet with valleys in these drainages occurring at an 

 average elevation of about 4,500 feet. 



Missouri River Headwaters State Park, a national historic 

 landmark, celebrates Lewis and Clark's voyage through the area, 

 and not far upstream, in Jefferson River Canyon, is Montana's 

 first state park -- Lewis and Clark Caverns. As separate rivers, 

 the Madison, Gallatin, and Jefferson are geologically and 

 historically unique, a fact that adds greatly to their value. 



Of the three Missouri headwaters rivers, the most familiar 

 nationally is the Madison. Ninety miles of the Madison's 140-mile 

 northerly journey is through the sagebrush country of southwest 

 Montana. It originates in Yellowstone National Park in the midst 

 of geysers and hot pools, and meanders through 50 miles of the 

 park before reaching Montana. Its fluvial journey is quickly 

 interrupted after leaving the park, first by Hebgen Dam built for 

 water storage in 1915, and then by Quake Lake, created by an 

 earthquake in 1959. Next is Ennis Dam, located just below the town 

 of Ennis, dammed in 1900 for power generation. 



The free-flowing Gallatin River, although not as well known as 

 its sister river the Madison, joins in from the east to form the 

 Missouri. The West Gallatin, also originating in the park, flows 

 north for about 100 miles to the town of Manhattan. The upper 40 

 of its 70 miles are confined in a scenic canyon, after which the 

 river spreads out across the valley's private land before being 

 joined by the East Gallatin. The East Gallatin River, nearly 40 

 miles in length, originates and flows through the Gallatin Valley 

 bottom for its entire course. Once the East and West Gallatins 

 come together, the river flows for only 10 miles before becoming 

 part of the Missouri. 



88 



