The Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery began its trip up the Missouri River in 1804, leaving from its junction with the Mississippi River.
A year later, Lewis & Clark found the beginning of the Missouri River.
The Missouri River starts in Montana at the junction of three small rivers — the Jefferson, the Madison, and the Gallatin near the current city of Bozeman.
From here the Missouri River runs north to northwest before flowing east and into North Dakota.
In the middle of North Dakota, the Missouri River takes a turn and flows south and then southeast through South Dakota and forms the partial borders of South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri.
In Missouri, at Kansas City, the river turns again and basically runs east all the way through the state of Missouri with a few twists and turns south before Jefferson City.
From Jefferson City, the Missouri River runs east until Augusta, Mo., where it begins a northeast route all the way to Machens where it turns southeast and runs this way to the Mississippi River where it ends.
