The Marias River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 210 mi (338 km) long, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. It is formed in Glacier County, in northwestern Montana, by the confluence of the

Cut Bank Creek The Cut Bank Creek is a tributary of the Marias River in the Missouri river basin watershed, approximately 75 mi (123 km) long, in northwestern Montana in the United States, which having deeply eroded steep cliff banks eponymously gives ...

and the

Two Medicine River The Two Medicine River is a tributary of the Marias River, approximately 60 mi (97 km) long, in northwestern Montana in the United States. It rises in the Rocky Mountain Front in Glacier National Park at the continental divide and f ...

. It flows east, through

Lake Elwell Lake Elwell (a.k.a. Tiber Reservoir) is a reservoir in north central Montana. The reservoir was created by the damming of the Marias River at the Tiber Dam. Lake Elwell was named for Judge Charles B. Elwell (1888–1974), former director of the ...

, formed by the Tiber Dam, then southeast, receiving the Teton River at Loma, 2 mi. (3.2 km) above its confluence with the Missouri. The river was explored in 1805 by the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

. Some of the men on the expedition mistook it for the main branch of the Missouri until their subsequent discovery of the Great Falls of the Missouri near

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...

. The river was named by

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, 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 ...

after his cousin, Maria Wood. Lewis led a small detachment of men to further explore the Marias River on the Expedition's return trip in 1806 to determine if the river ventured north above the

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

border, and he killed a young

Blackfeet The Blackfeet Nation ( bla, Aamsskáápipikani, script=Latn, ), officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Monta ...

warrior trying to steal horses and a gun from the small detachment. The river was the scene of the 1870

Marias Massacre The Marias Massacre (also known as the Baker Massacre or the Piegan Massacre) was a massacre of Piegan Blackfeet Native peoples which was committed by the United States Army as part of the Indian Wars. The massacre took place on January 23, 1870 ...

. The Marias is a Class I river from Tiber Dam to its confluence with the Missouri River for public access for recreational purposes.Stream Access in Montana
The Montana Watershed Coordination Council is an advocate for the river. The

Marias River Bridge The Marias River Bridge spans the Marias River near Shelby in Toole County, Montana. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's officia ...

was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2012.

External links

Lewis and Clark at Loma on the Marias

Notes

{{authority control Rivers of Montana Tributaries of the Missouri River Rivers of Chouteau County, Montana Bodies of water of Hill County, Montana Bodies of water of Liberty County, Montana Bodies of water of Toole County, Montana Bodies of water of Pondera County, Montana Rivers of Glacier County, Montana

See also

External links

Notes