What Yellowstone River is known for

The Yellowstone River Destination encompasses part of Montana. With a partial forest environment and multiple cities, the region houses various events and activities. Yellowstone River is the main of these attractions. The river has been noted for its scenery and proximity to national parks. Though none of these national parks are located within the Yellowstone River Destination, the river is still an attraction that guests who are staying in the area can visit. Yellowstone River flows through Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota with 692 miles in total. The river is also known for ending with two waterfalls into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.[7] At Yellowstone River, a few different activities are available. Family activities that have been done before are river craft activities, river dipping, Poohsticks, and feeding the ducks. River craft activities involve getting natural resources and decorating them or forming them into patterns. River dipping involves getting a net and dipping it into the river to catch water bugs. Poohsticks is a game based on A.A. Milne's book The House at Pooh Corner. To play Poohsticks, one must find a bridge to go on. Next, each player selects a stick and decorates it so that the sticks can be distinguished. Drop the sticks into the river, then cross to the other side of the bridge to see which Pooh stick emerges first. The first stick to flow to the opposite side of the bridge wins. Other activities to do on the river include swimming, fishing, bird watching, white water rafting, and river tubing.[1]

Yellowstone River passes through multiple cities, one of them being Miles City. Miles City is the largest city within the Yellowstone River Destination. The town has a population of 7,847 people with a 93.3% white ratio of the racial demographics.[9] Though the city is small, there are still various opportunities for tourists to visit attractions such as the Range Riders Museum, the Tongue River Winery, Main Street, the Bucking Horse Sale, the WaterWorks Art Museum, and Pirogue Island State Park.[2] 

The Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, which is another attraction located in the Yellowstone River Destination, is federally recognized land for the Northern Cheyenne tribe. The reservation, which is located in southeastern Montana, is around 690 square miles in size. It acts as a home for approximately 5,000 Cheyenne people.[3] At the Indian reservation, the people speak the Tsitsistas language and have retained their way of living. Tours of the area are available, some of which are the Gathering of Nations, I am Lakota, the Buffalo Nations, the Ancient Ways of the Hopi, and Yellowstone Wisdom. Each of these takes place during specific months of the year.[4]

Geography

Located in Montana, the Yellowstone River Destination consists of a mixture of desert and forest terrains. The shape of the region follows cities and other landmarks in an abnormal pattern. Custer, Bighorn, Hysham, Forsyth, Rosebud, Hathaway, Miles City, Kinsey, Saugus, Terry, Fallon, and Glendive are the cities that influence the north side of the district. To the east and south of the district are straight lines that make up the border. The west end of the area goes up steeply at the beginning, then slows to a curve until it reaches its peak at the north. The most well-known places within the Yellowstone River Destination are the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Miles City, and the Yellowstone River.

Because of its location, many of the plants and animals that dwell in the Yellowstone River Destination are specific to Montana. Bighorn sheep and mountain goats are likely the most common in the desert terrain, while white-tailed deer, American black bears, moose, and wapitis dwell in the more forested areas. Fireweed, common beargrass, chokeberries, common yarrows, fairy-slippers, and thimbleberries are also located in the forests. Cacti are scattered throughout the district, and a portion of them have flowers such as plains prickly pear on them. A relatively high quantity of bird species can be found throughout the land. Bald eagles, wild turkeys, great horned owls, mountain bluebirds, and American dippers are the more common birds thriving in the area, while Western tanagers, dusky grouses, yellow-rumped warblers, and osprey are the rarer bird species that live in the Yellowstone River Destination.[6] 

Miles City, near the Yellowstone River, has specific weather conditions that influence typical and efficient times to visit. It has been suggested that the best time to visit Miles City is from the middle of May to the end of September. This is because of the temperatures, and the lower chances of rain or humidity. Temperatures around Miles City, including at Yellowstone River, have an average of around 20 degrees Fahrenheit to about 78 degrees Fahrenheit. February and December are most commonly the coldest months of the year, in contrast to the hottest season, which is between the end of July and early August. The weather is relatively diverse from month to month but has a general rise and fall, with the highest peak being in July and the lowest point being in February. Rain at Miles City has a low percentage, though there is a chance of rain during most of the year. December and February receive almost no rain, while May has the highest probability of rainfall. January and November share the second-lowest percentage of possible rainfall, followed by March, April, June, July, and August. The Yellowstone River Destination is slightly humid, as the most humidity is received in the month of December, followed by February and January. July, August, and September have the lowest humidity.[5]

History

The Yellowstone River Destination is named after the Yellowstone River, which has multiple bridges and has experienced a few floods. The floods at Yellowstone River are the main cause of infrastructure damage, channel migration, and bank armoring. Floods that have a 10-year return interval have occurred multiple times. Occasionally a twenty-five-year or fifty-year return interval will happen but on a more rare account. Floods that took longer than ten years to return to normality happened in 1943, 1944, 1967, 1974, 1978, 1996, and 1997. Flooding in 1943 peaked because of a system-wide snowmelt event. More often than not, a major flood event only occurs on the upper river or lower river, but almost never both. Commonly, the floods are the most prominent in June, though, in Sydney, a specific location along the Yellowstone River, the flooding occurred during March. June and July have the peak of flooding in most cases, while February and May have the least amount of floods.[8] 

A possibility that may occur along the Yellowstone River is ice jams. Since the late 1800s, over 100 ice jams have taken place on the Yellowstone River. These ice jams have resulted in flooding, infrastructure damage, and loss of life and property. Similar to the floods, ice melts have an impact on human activity within the river corridor, along with the management that has been put in place. It is because of the ice melts that certain human impacts, such as bridges, took place. Ice jams only occur for part of the year, specifically the colder months. March has more impactful ice jams, though other possible months of the year to receive ice jams are April, February, January, and December. [8] 

Bridges are another factor that impacts river behavior by encroaching into the river corridor, promoting the use of bank armor to protect approaches and abutments, and creating backwater-induced flooding. Bridges are also essential when it comes to transportation, specifically for the local communities. A total of 55 bridges cross the Yellowstone River, 16 of which are in Prairie County, while Richland County only has one. The average bridge length is 400 feet in Park County and 1,500 feet in Dawson County. These bridges have contributed to multiple historical events within the area.[8] 

The Yellowstone area was first explored by European descendants in 1806 during the Lewis and Clark Expedition. When the party was returning from the Pacific Northwest, Lieut. William Clark led a group that sailed down the river. Eventually, towns and cities were built around the river. The Yellowstone River connects to Yellowstone National Park.[7]