| @Statetravelr: OK, now I see where the confusion comes from. If I were to only look at your map I would be led to believe that at least one of the branches of the Missouri River starts in Wyoming. However, "The Missouri River rises in the Rocky Mountains of southwestern Montana at the confluence of the Jefferson River and Madison River, in Missouri Headwaters State Park near the town of Three Forks." -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_River The rivers you are pointing to in the northwest corner of Wyoming are
actually the Madison (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison_River), Gallatin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallatin_River), and Yellowstone Rivers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_River). The Madison and Gallatin Rivers converge near Three Forks, Montana to form the Missouri River. The Yellowstone River flows into the Missouri River near Buford, North Dakota. Here's a map that shows the rivers in northwest Wyoming: http://www.wsgs.uwyo.edu/WSGSgroups/Hydrology/images/Major%20Rivers.jpg All of these rivers are indeed tributaries to the Missouri River and definitely part of the Missouri River watershed, but I think it's incorrect to refer to these rivers (Madison, Gallatin, and Yellowstone) as the Missouri River just as it would be incorrect to refer to the Missouri River as the Mississippi River just because it is a tributary and part of the Mississippi watershed. |
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