The Roe River runs from
Giant Springs
Giant Springs is a large first magnitude spring located near Great Falls, Montana and is the central feature of Giant Springs State Park. Its water has a constant temperature of and originates from snowmelt in the Little Belt Mountains, awa ...
to the
Missouri River 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 ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The Roe River is only long at its longest constant point, and had been named as the World's Shortest River by the ''
Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' before Guinness eliminated the category. Towards its mouth, the Roe is about deep.
History
A successful campaign to get the Roe River recognized by the ''Guinness World Records'' as the shortest
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
in the world originated in 1987 with fifth-grade students of teacher Susie Nardlinger at Lincoln Elementary School in Great Falls. The river was unnamed at the time, so the students first had to petition the
United States Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...
to accept their proposed name, Roe River, then submit their proposal to Guinness. The children's name likely came from the Giant Springs Trout Hatchery adjoining the springs and which receives of spring water per minute used in primarily raising
rainbow trout
The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...
from their own ''
roe
Roe ( ) or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooked in ...
'' (eggs). In 1988 future NFL football player
Dallas Neil
Dallas Neil (born September 30, 1976) is a former American football punter and tight end for the Atlanta Falcons and the New York Jets.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/N/NeilDa20.htm Neil was the starting quarter back for his hi ...
, then a student at the school, put in an appearance on ''
The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
'' as part of this effort.
Previously,
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
's
D River
The D River is a river in Lincoln City, Oregon, United States. The once-nameless river was at one time the "shortest river in the world" in the ''Guinness World Records'' at .
World record dispute
The world's shortest title was lost in 1989 whe ...
was listed in
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
as the world's shortest river at . This title was contested in 1989 when Guinness named the Roe River as the world's shortest. Not to be deterred, the people of Lincoln City submitted a new measurement of the D River to Guinness of about long, when marked at "extreme high tide".
At that time, Lincoln City's
Chamber of Commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...
described the Roe as a "drainage ditch surveyed for a school project". Nardlinger shot back that the D was merely an "ocean water backup", pointed out that there was an alternative fork to the Roe which was only long, and suggested that a new survey be conducted.
Guinness apparently never ruled on the dispute, leaving the claim by the Roe stand, but instead chose to no longer list a shortest river, possibly as a result of this ongoing dispute.
See also
*
List of rivers of Montana
The following is a partial list of rivers of Montana (U.S. state).
East of Continental Divide
Water in these rivers flows east and south from the Continental Divide of the Americas, also known as the Great Divide, into the Gulf of Mexico via t ...
References
External links
MontanaKids.comarticle on Roe River
Giant Springs State ParkMontana State Parks
*
{{authority control
Rivers of Montana
Tributaries of the Missouri River
Rivers of Cascade County, Montana