
Known as one of the most spectacular scenic wonders of the United States, and referred to by the Mandan Indians that inhabited the area as “Minni-Sose-Tanka-Kun-Ya,” the five Great Falls of the Missouri River, located within ten miles of one another, drop the river six hundred and twelve feet from the first to the last fall.
Rainbow Falls:
Standing forty-seven feet tall, 1320 feet wide, and surrounded by expansive rolling hills, Beautiful Cascade, now known as Rainbow Falls, lies in the Discoveryland Area of north-central Montana and spills over a sheer sandstone ridge in the Kootenai Mesozoic Geological Formation.
Black Eagle Falls:
Part of the Great Falls Portage National Historic Landmark, Upper Pitch, now called Black Eagle Falls, was named by the Lewis and Clark Expedition after an eagle they spotted that had built her nest in a cottonwood tree on an island in the middle of the falls.
Colter Falls:
On the list of America's Most Endangered Places, and located in the Shonkin Sag Prehistoric Landform on the northern edge of the Highwood Mountains, one of the best known meltwater channels on earth, Colter Falls became famous for the westslope cutthroat trout found in its waters by the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Crooked Falls:
Best seen from an overlook at Giant Springs State Park, or from River Drive, and also known as Horseshoe Falls, Crooked Falls is the only one of the five falls that has not been dammed and remains mostly in its original state.
Great Falls:
Created by the Glacial Lake Great Falls Prehistoric Lake, in the Great Falls Tectonic Zone, and the site of Ryan Dam, the Great Falls are shown on the State Seal of Montana.
Giant Springs:
Formed by an opening in the Madison Aquifer found in five US states and three Canadian provinces, located in Giant Springs State Park on the Missouri River's eastern bank, the most heavily visited State Park in Montana, and receiving its origins from snow melt in the Little Belt Mountains that takes approximately 2900 years to travel underground before resurfacing at the spring, according to radiometric dating tests, Giant Springs is one of the largest natural cold water springs in the world, and produces one of the world's shortest rivers, the two hundred foot long Roe River.
Artwork:
The Great Falls of the Missouri River have appeared in the famous artwork “Barter For A Bridge” by John Mix Stanley that displays in the United States Department of State's Diplomatic Reception Room, in “Lewis and Clark With Sacajawea At The Great Falls Of Montana” by Native Americana Painter Olaf Carl Seltzer, and in 1859/1860 photographs by Western Photographer James Dempsey Hutton.
Motion Pictures:
The Great Falls of the Missouri, and the closest major city to them, also known as Great Falls, have been highlighted in such major motion pictures as The Vessel, Northfork, Iron Ridge, The Slaughter Rule, Freedom, Holy Matrimony, Amazing Grace and Chuck, A River Runs Through It, The Stone Boy, The Untouchables, Telefon, and Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.
Attractions:
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places the Great Falls of the Missouri River are part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and the thirty mile long River's Edge Trail. Other popular tourist attractions connected to the Great Falls of the Missouri include the Giant Springs State Park, the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, the famous cowboy artist Charles Marion Russell Museum, the History Museum-Great Falls, the Great Falls Genealogy Society Library, the Great Falls Cowboy Museum, the Malmstrom Air Force Base Museum and Air Park, the Tour de Great Falls, the Historic Homes District, the First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park, the Montana Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Pro Rodeo Circuit Finals, the Charles Marion Russell Auction and Exhibition Show, the Lewis and Clark Festival, the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center, and the Montana State Fair.
Sources:
This Article was compiled from several websites that provide much more information about the Great Falls of the Missouri River including:
visitmt.com
formontana.net
infoplease.com
americaslibrary.gov
panoramio.com
