 Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz
 Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz
"The Mighty Missouri"
"...very bad part of the river...bank was falling in so fast that the evident danger obliged us to cross between the starbd side and a sand bar in the middle of the river...The swiftness of the current wheeled the boat, broke our toe rope, and was nearly over setting the boat, all hands jumped out."
Meriwether Lewis, May 24, 1804.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition faced many obstacles and challenges on their journey to the west and the Missouri River was among the mightiest. The Corps of Discovery rowed and pulled with a heavy rope (cordelle) up the uncharted Missouri River's treacherous currents in 1804. Every mysterious bend and channel was a challenge for the Corps. Today, the Missouri's flow has been tamed with dams, channels, and levees to reduce flooding and to ease navigation. But even in modern times, the river can revert to its natural untamed ways. In 1993 and 1995, floodwaters rose to a level near the base of this sign.
[Top Photo: Marker
bottom Photo is of the Missouri River from the base of the marker, to provide a slight idea of how high the river rose.]
Artist Mark S. Raithel depicts Lewis and Clark looking out over the Missouri River in present day Missouri; Background Images on marker courtesy of the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation; Sign sponsored by American Recreation Products.
Main St., Miller's Landing, New Haven, Franklin County Missouri
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Missouri 
