Paddle steamers also helped settlement in the Dakotas and Montana. Steamboat traffic began on the river in 1830 with the American Fur Company, which reached its peak in 1858. This was the name given to the Shiwere people living along the river of the same name, by the Illinois tribe.įur traders began to explore upstream in the early 18 th century notable trading companies who used the river included the Spanish Commercial Company, Saint Louis Missouri Fur Company, Columbia Fur Company, and the Rocky Mountain Fur Company.īut it wasn’t until the Lewis and Clark Expedition between 18 that the river was first explored in its entirety, from mouth to headwaters. Later, it was referred to as Oumessourit.Īccording to the Missouri River Paddler, the word Ouemessorita comes from the Algonquian dialect. On early French maps, the river was called Peki-tan-oui. In 1673, French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet came across the mouth of the Missouri while they were traveling down the Mississippi River. The Missouri River was also used for trade, prayer, and burial by Native American tribes, and it remains a place of spiritual practices and burials.
Some of the tribes known to have lived in the area include the Blackfeet, Hidatsa, and Crow. Prior to European settlement, Native American peoples lived in the area surrounding the Upper Missouri River. The current course that the river follows is estimated to have formed 115,000 years ago.
The Missouri River is believed to have first formed approximately 30 million years ago and has undergone countless changes to its course since then.
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