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86-559: Grant Prince Marsh (May 11, 1834 – January 1916) was a riverboat pilot and captain who was noted for his many piloting exploits on the upper Missouri River and the Yellowstone River in the Western United States from 1862 until 1882. He began working as a cabin boy in 1856, eventually becoming a captain, pilot, and owner in a career lasting over sixty years. During that time, he achieved an outstanding record and reputation as

172-707: A ferry is often used to cross a river, a riverboat is used to travel along the course of the river, while carrying passengers or cargo, or both, for revenue. (Vessels like ' riverboat casinos ' are not considered here, as they are essentially stationary.) The significance of riverboats is dependent on the number of navigable rivers and channels as well as the condition of the road and rail network. Generally speaking, riverboats provide slow but cheap transport especially suited for bulk cargo and containers . As early as 20,000 BC people started fishing in rivers and lakes using rafts and dugouts . Roman sources dated 50 BC mention extensive transportation of goods and people on

258-543: A steamboat captain, serving on more than 22 vessels. His piloting exploits became legendary and modern historians have referred to him as "possibly the greatest steamboat man ever", "possibly the greatest [steamboat pilot] ever", "possibly the finest riverboat pilot who ever lived", and "the greatest steamboat master and pilot on both the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers". After the discovery of gold in Montana Territory in

344-691: A U.S. Army column that included Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry . The army column played a major role in the Great Sioux War of 1876 , and its most noted battle was the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25–26, 1876. After the battle, from June 30 to July 3, Marsh piloted the Far West down the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers to Bismarck , carrying fifty-one wounded cavalry troopers from

430-556: A column of men from Fort Ellis near Bozeman, Montana and traveled down the Yellowstone to meet up with General Alfred Terry 's Dakota Column, which had traveled upstream from North Dakota. Terry formed a base of operations at the mouth of Rosebud Creek on the Yellowstone, but the US miscalculated the strength of the Lakota, who had gathered by the thousands along the river. Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer departed from Rosebud Creek with

516-577: A forecast of more rain to come. The historic Carbella Bridge was destroyed. In June 2023, a railroad bridge collapsed that had been built adjacent to the Twin Bridges Road Bridge ( c.  1931 –2021). This resulted in several rail cars falling into the Yellowstone River. Approximately 48,000 US gallons (180,000 L) of molten petroleum products were released into the river. Fish consumption advisories were put in place due to

602-573: A hearing before the Department of Commerce and Labor on December 6, 1907, Marsh's license was revoked. On January 6, 1916, Grant Marsh died in Bismarck, North Dakota. He was reported to have "died in near poverty", as Issac P. Baker, his former manager at the Benton Packet Company, laid claim to much of his estate because of unpaid bills. Marsh had asked to be buried on Wagon Wheel Bluff overlooking

688-472: A history of nine oil spills in 2006–14 leaking an amount of 11,000 US gallons (42,000 L; 9,200 imp gal) of crude. Also, their sister company Belle Fourche Pipeline owned by Tad True and their family, recorded twenty-one incidents in the same period leaking 272,832 US gallons (1,032,780 L; 227,180 imp gal) of oil, both companies had federal fines levied against them and appear in governments records. The oil cleanup on Yellowstone River

774-567: A hydropower company, is unrelated. On February 22, 2012, Montana lost that case too.) The name is widely believed to have been derived from the Minnetaree Indian name Mi tse a-da-zi (Yellow Rock River) ( Hidatsa : miʔciiʔriaashiish' ). Common lore recounts that the name was inspired by the yellow-colored rocks along the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, but the Minnetaree never lived along

860-517: A load of miners who were catching the last boat of the summer and who had $ 1,250,000 in gold, the most valuable shipment ever carried on the Missouri. In 1868, Marsh took the Nile upriver during the fall, wintered the boat there, and successfully returned downriver in the spring, undamaged. In late 1869 he took the North Alabama upstream loaded with vegetables, despite the risk of being icebound, going all

946-507: A massive fish kill attributed to proliferative kidney disease, a rare but serious salmonid disease. The parasite-- Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae —is not harmful to humans or other mammals. Wildlife officials estimate tens of thousands of fish may have died, mostly mountain whitefish , but Yellowstone cutthroat and rainbow trout have been affected. The closure is expected to cause significant adverse economic impact to businesses which depend on summer tourist and recreational activities along

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1032-593: A riverboat captain. In 1902, Marsh returned to Bismarck and to his career on the Upper Missouri in command of the snag-boat Choctaw . Washburn sold out his interests in Dakota in 1904 to the Minneapolis and St. Paul Railroad, which immediately sold all the steamboats and barges to Isaac P. Baker, who reorganized as the Benton Packet Company. The Missouri River valley was filling with homesteaders who were taking up land on both

1118-426: A rope to an upstream tree or a "deadman" planted in the bank. He learned to "grasshopper" his way over sandbars in low water. A number of authors write that in this process, spars were sunk from the prow of the boat down to the river bottom, and then a steam-driven winch and a rope harness over the top of the spar was used to hitch the front of the boat up on the spars and slide it forward for a few feet of progress. This

1204-427: A spar to get off a sandbar in 1828. They describe canting the spar with its top forward, rather than toward the stern. Merrick describes placing a block (pulley) at the stern of the boat to haul on the line to the spar. This would indicate that in most cases, grasshoppering was used to back the boat off the bar, rather than go forward over it. That would also avoid the risk of moving the boat forward but then getting

1290-723: A special advantage in some operations in the free-running Yangtze. In several locations within the Three Gorges , one-way travel was enforced through fast narrows . While less maneuverable and deeper draft vessels were obliged to wait for clearance, these high-speed boats were free to zip past waiting traffic by running in the shallows. Smaller riverboats are used in urban and suburban areas for sightseeing and public transport. Sightseeing boats can be found in Amsterdam, Paris, and other touristic cities where historical monuments are located near water. The concept of local waterborn public transport

1376-660: A specialised river dredge , also called a "snagboat". Some large riverboats are comparable in accommodation, food service, and entertainment to a modern oceanic cruise ship . Tourist boats provide a scenic and relaxing trip through the segment they operate in. On the Yangtze River, typically employees have double duties: both as serving staff and as evening-costumed dancers. Smaller luxury craft (without entertainment) operate on European waterways - both rivers and canals, with some providing bicycle and van side trips to smaller villages. High-speed boats such as those shown here had

1462-564: A system of rivers, including the Yellowstone River, and four tributary basins: the Clarks Fork Yellowstone , Wind River and Bighorn River , Tongue River , and Powder River . These rivers form tributaries to the Missouri River . The mainstem of the Yellowstone River is more than 700 miles (1,100 km) long. At the headwaters, elevations exceed 12,800 feet (3,900 m) above sea level and descends to 1,850 feet (560 m) at

1548-583: A variety of jobs. In 1901, William D. Washburn, a businessman, had built a railroad to the Missouri River above Bismarck and bought a large tract of land in the area that was rapidly being settled. Washburn also bought several small light-draft steamboats and barges to haul lumber and merchandise upriver from Bismarck to the settlers, and to bring down grain and other produce. Washburn sought out Marsh in St. Louis and importuned him to return to Bismarck in his employ as

1634-622: Is a Class I river from the Yellowstone National Park boundary to the North Dakota border for the purposes of stream access for recreational purposes. The division of water rights to the entire Yellowstone River Basin among Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota, governed by a 1950 compact, was disputed in a 2010 lawsuit brought directly to the U.S. Supreme Court by Montana against Wyoming. Oral argument took place in January 2011. On May 2, 2011,

1720-513: Is also quite low compared to other modes of transport. Yellowstone River The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River , approximately 671 miles (1,080 km) long, in the Western United States . Considered the principal tributary of upper Missouri, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountains and high plains of southern Montana and northern Wyoming , and stretching east from

1806-552: Is considered a long-term risk." Nearly 6,000 people were told not to use municipal water in Glendive due to the elevated levels of cancer-causing benzene found in the Yellowstone River, and in the tap water supplied. Bottled water was provided to their residents. On January 23, 2015, the city water treatment plant was declared decontaminated. City officials declared tap water safe to consume. The Wyoming company from True Companies' Poplar pipeline system involved in this incident has

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1892-627: Is known as water taxi in English-speaking countries, vaporetto in Venice, water/river tramway in former Soviet Union and Poland (although sightseeing boats can be called water tramways too). Local waterborne public transport is similar to ferry. The transport craft shown below is used for short-distance carriage of passengers between villages and small cities along the Yangtze, while larger craft are used for low-cost carriage over longer distance, without

1978-412: Is mentioned, as these were powered by burning wood, with iron boilers drafted by a pair of tall smokestacks belching smoke and cinders, and twin double-acting pistons driving a large paddlewheel at the stern, churning foam. This type of propulsion was an advantage as a rear paddlewheel operates in an area clear of snags, is easily repaired, and is not likely to suffer damage in a grounding. By burning wood,

2064-523: Is normally done by boat. The most productive stretch of water is through Paradise Valley in Montana, especially near Livingston which holds brown , rainbow and native Yellowstone cutthroat trout as well as mountain whitefish . From Billings downstream to the North Dakota border, anglers seek burbot , channel catfish , paddlefish , sauger , smallmouth bass , and walleye . The pallid sturgeon ( Scaphirhynchus albus ), an endangered species endemic to

2150-494: Is present in some streams within the watershed. The exploitation of oil resources and infrastructure in the region has also produced contamination of the river, including by major oil spills . The Yellowstone River is considered to be one of the greatest trout streams of the world and is officially classed as a blue ribbon stream in Montana from the park to the confluence with the Boulder River east of Livingston and from

2236-562: The 7th Cavalry on the expedition that ended in his complete defeat by the Lakota and Cheyenne at the Battle of the Little Bighorn . The army ferried its survivors down the Yellowstone to the Missouri, and to Fort Abraham Lincoln . The US Army returned in force and finally achieved victory over the tribes, forcing them onto reservations. The Lakota and allies were forced from eastern Montana and Wyoming: some bands fled to Canada, while others suffered removal to distant reservations, primarily located in present-day South Dakota and Nebraska west of

2322-669: The Absaroka Range , on the Continental Divide in southwestern Park County . The river starts where the North Fork and the South Fork of the Yellowstone River converge. The North Fork, the larger of the two forks, flows from Younts Peak . The South Fork flows from the southern slopes of Thorofare Mountain. The Yellowstone River flows northward through Yellowstone National Park , feeding and draining Yellowstone Lake , then dropping over

2408-518: The Batchelor upstream from Bismarck to Fort Buford, a distance of 307 miles, in 55 hours and 25 minutes. This established a new speed record for upstream steamboat travel on the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. In 1879, Marsh purchased a ferry boat, the Andrew S. Bennett , which was in service between Bismarck and Mandan on the Missouri River. He hired a pilot to operate the ferry while he continued to pilot

2494-646: The Cook–Folsom–Peterson Expedition and the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition . In the early 1870s, the Northern Pacific Railroad attempted to extend rail service along the Yellowstone to Livingston from Bismarck, North Dakota , a route proposed to cross the last of the Lakota buffalo hunting grounds. This route was finally completed in 1883. By the early 20th century, Northern Pacific was providing train service along

2580-495: The F.Y. Batchelor on the Missouri and Yellowstone. In 1881 and 1882, the Northern Pacific Railway built west from Bismarck to the Yellowstone River valley, and then up the valley and over the continental divide. This ended riverboat traffic on the Yellowstone River. In 1882, Marsh purchased his own riverboat, the W.J. Behan , and continued to haul freight and passengers on the Missouri River out of Bismarck. In 1882

2666-603: The Far West , which on July 3, 1876, brought the first news to Bismarck of the " Custer Massacre " that had occurred on the Little Bighorn River in the Montana Territory on June 25. Aboard the Far West were fifty U.S. Army troopers wounded in the battle. In an epic feat of riverboat piloting, Marsh brought the Far West from the mouth of the Little Bighorn down the Bighorn River to the Yellowstone River, then to

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2752-626: The Fort Berthold Indian Reservation . It flooded the fertile bottomlands of the Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Arikara, Hidatsa), damaging their economy and reducing their ability to be self-sufficient. In Montana, the river's waters have been used extensively for irrigation since the 1860s. In its upper reaches, within Yellowstone Park and the mountains of Montana, it is a popular destination for fly fishing . The Yellowstone

2838-563: The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks closed a 200-yard (180 m) section of the Yellowstone River approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Reed Point at the request of the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), after MDT inspectors discovered the bridge that carried Twin Bridges Road (former US-10) over the river was in danger of collapse. The 3-span truss bridge, built in 1931, had shown advanced deterioration of

2924-594: The Rocky Mountains in the vicinity of Yellowstone National Park . It flows northeast to its confluence with the Missouri River on the North Dakota side of the border, about 25 miles (40 km) west of Williston . The Yellowstone River watershed is a river basin spanning 37,167 square miles (96,260 km ) across Montana , with minor extensions into Wyoming and North Dakota , toward headwaters and terminus, respectively. The Yellowstone Basin watershed contains

3010-614: The Big Horn, Powder and Tongue rivers is the traditional summer hunting grounds for numerous Native American tribes: Lakota Sioux , Crow, Cheyenne and Cree . Gold was discovered near Virginia City, Montana in the 1860s, and two of the primary routes for accessing the goldfields were the Bozeman Trail and the Bridger Trail both of which followed the Yellowstone for a short length. In the 19th century, European-American settlers depended on

3096-487: The Court held 7-2 (by Justice Thomas, with Justice Scalia dissenting) that Montana had no valid claim that its water supply had been diminished since Wyoming was irrigating the same acreage as always, albeit by a more modern method that returned less runoff to go downstream to Montana. (A subsequent 2011 Supreme Court case, in which Montana asserted ownership of Missouri Basin river bottoms, so as to collect decades of back rent from

3182-461: The Minnetaree name, French trappers in the area referred to the river as Roche Jaune (Yellow Rock), a name adopted by ethnic American, French and other European mountain men until the mid-19th century. Independently, Lewis and Clark recorded the English translation of Yellow Stone for the river after they encountered the Minnetaree in 1805. With expanding settlement by English-speaking people from

3268-600: The Mississippi and the lower Missouri on ferries, snag boats, and hauling bulk loads. He remained a steamboatman until his death in 1916 at the age of 82. Grant Marsh began work on the Allegheny River as a cabin boy at the age of 12. He became a first mate and student pilot under Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) on the Mississippi in 1858. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he worked on riverboats hauling troops and supplies for

3354-420: The Missouri River and ferrying army explorers and survey parties up the Yellowstone River. Assisting in military expeditions, Marsh made many pioneer voyages on the Yellowstone, including the furthest ascent of the Yellowstone (to just above present-day Billings, Montana ) in the shallow-draft sternwheel boat Josephine in 1875. Grant Marsh is most commonly remembered in history as the steamboat pilot/captain of

3440-515: The Missouri River. Crow warriors had enlisted as scouts with the US Army during the war and the Crow Indian Reservation was established in south-central Montana. The Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation is south of the Yellowstone in Montana. Many of the early expeditions to the area that was later protected as Yellowstone National Park traveled along the Yellowstone River. These included

3526-546: The Missouri, and then to Bismarck. He made the run from the mouth of the Bighorn to Bismarck over a period of 4 days, from June 30 to July 3, 1876. Rarely leaving the wheel, he traversed some 710 river miles in just 54 hours, setting a record for steamboat travel that still stands. Similar in design to the Far West , the Nellie Peck was also a sternwheel packet , built in 1871 at Brownsville, Pennsylvania , and whose construction

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3612-481: The Missouri, but he was buried in a simple grave in Bismarck's St. Mary's Cemetery. It is one of the higher spots in Bismarck and has a view of the Missouri. A large rock serves as his tombstone. The rock is engraved with an image of a riverboat. Grant Marsh is remembered by many statues and placenames: Riverboat Riverboats are usually less sturdy than ships built for the open seas, with limited navigational and rescue equipment, as they do not have to withstand

3698-660: The Murray, but now a lower water level is stopping them. The Kalgan River in Western Australia has had two main riverboats, the Silver Star , 1918 to 1935, would lower her funnel to get under the low bridge. Today, the Kalgan Queen riverboat takes tourists up the river to taste the local wines. She lowers her roof to get under the same bridge. It is these early steam-driven river craft that typically come to mind when " steamboat "

3784-670: The Sioux Chief Sitting Bull returned from Canada where he had sought refuge in 1877 following the Battle of the Little Bighorn. He surrendered to the Army at Fort Randall with his remaining followers. In late April 1883, Marsh accepted an assignment to take the W.J. Behan up the Missouri to Fort Randall and transport Sitting Bull downstream to the Standing Rock Reservation . In 1883, as Missouri steamboat traffic declined with

3870-674: The Union during the Fort Donelson and Shiloh campaigns on the Tennessee River . In 1862, he worked on the Mississippi in the Vicksburg campaign . After Vicksburg, he began to work on boats traveling up the Missouri River , hauling army supplies and troops in campaigns against hostile Indians in the Dakota Territory . Gold was first discovered in western Montana in 1862, and immediately there

3956-677: The United States, the English name eventually became the most widely used. The river was explored in 1806 by William Clark as the Lewis and Clark Expedition returned east from the Pacific Coast. Clark's Fork of the river was named after him. Most of the natural features of the Yellowstone Valley not already named by Lewis and Clark were named by pioneer steamboat captain Grant Marsh . Marsh

4042-733: The Upper and Lower Yellowstone Falls at the head of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone within the confines of the park. After passing through the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone downstream of the Grand Canyon, the river flows northward into Montana between the northern Absaroka Range and the Gallatin Range in Paradise Valley . The river emerges from the mountains near the town of Livingston , where it turns eastward and northeastward, flowing across

4128-537: The Yellowstone River in support of several military expeditions into Indian country. In 1875, he made the furthest upriver ascent of the Yellowstone in the Josephine , arriving at a point just above present-day Billings, Montana . Marsh is most often referenced by historians for his exploits in 1876 as the pilot of the Far West , a shallow-draft steamboat operating on the Yellowstone River and its tributaries, which accompanied

4214-784: The Yellowstone Watershed that have lasted several years. Droughts have occurred in the basin in 1929–42, 1948–62 and 1976–82. The 1977 drought affected most of the western United States and resulted in decreased streamflows in the watershed. The reduced flow resulted in increased dissolved solids concentrations in the basin. Water quality varies across the various rivers in the basin. In mountainous areas, suspended sediment and dissolved solid concentrations are lower than in basin and plain areas. Human activities, including agriculture and mining , along with natural sources, contribute to suspended sedimentation levels in plain areas. In addition, fecal bacteria , salt , and selenium contamination

4300-399: The boat could consume fuel provided by woodcutters along the shore of the river. These early boats carried a brow (a short bridge) on the bow, so they could head in to an unimproved shore for transfer of cargo and passengers. Modern riverboats are generally screw (propeller) -driven, with pairs of diesel engines of several thousand horsepower. The standard reference for the development of

4386-522: The center of the boat stuck on the bar. It would also avoid subjecting the rudders and paddlewheel to damage. In 1871, Captain Marsh went into business with Commodore Sanford B. Coulson, his two brothers, and other noteworthy businessmen to form the Coulson Packet Company, which soon became famous in Missouri River history. Their objective was to establish a company that would have complete domain over

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4472-494: The confluence with the Missouri River in far western North Dakota . The watershed spans 34,167 square miles (88,490 km ). The area contains many lakes, including Yellowstone Lake . There are no storage dams located on the mainstem of the Yellowstone River. However, the watershed contains five major reservoirs built on tributary rivers: Bull Lake , Boysen , Buffalo Bill , Big Horn , Tongue River , and Lake De Smet reservoirs. The river rises in northwestern Wyoming in

4558-445: The detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in mountain whitefish downstream of the collapse. Flooding occurs in the watershed due to snowmelt , rainfall , and intense thunderstorms . In higher elevations, snowmelt can cause flood conditions due to rapid melt in spring and early summer. In lower elevations, regional rainstorms and intense thunderstorms can cause flooding in summer and fall. Severe droughts have occurred in

4644-420: The discovery of gold in 1874 in the Black Hills, however, attracted thousands of miners who invaded the sacred grounds and competed for resources. New armed conflicts broke out with the Lakota Sioux. The new competition and violence led to the Great Sioux War of 1876-77 . The US sent in troops to protect the miners, although they had violated the treaty, and to defeat the Sioux. In 1876, Colonel John Gibbon led

4730-587: The early 1860s, the Missouri River became the major artery for freight and passengers traveling from "the states" to Fort Benton , near the head of navigation on the upper river. The last 300 miles ran through a vast unsettled prairie and the remote Missouri breaks. As a riverboat pilot in this wilderness Marsh contended with migrating buffalo herds, hostile Indians, and severe weather including violent windstorms, along with numerous underwater hazards from rapids, snags, and sandbars. From 1873 to 1879 Marsh piloted shallow-draft paddle wheel steamboats on pioneer voyages up

4816-427: The early 19th century. Out west, riverboats were common transportation on the Colorado , Columbia , and Sacramento rivers. These American riverboats were designed to draw very little water, and in fact it was commonly said that they could "navigate on a heavy dew". Australia has a history of riverboats. Australia's biggest river, the Murray , has an inland port called Echuca . Many large riverboats were working on

4902-436: The east and west banks of the river. These new communities were not served by any railroad and Baker saw an opportunity to provide passenger and freight transport to this growing population extending along both banks of the Missouri River. Baker enlarged the company to include five steamboats, six barges, and two ferryboats. Marsh continued with the Benton Packet Company, serving at one time or another as captain/pilot of each of

4988-409: The expansion of railroad lines through the Dakota Territory and into the Montana Territory, Marsh sold the W.J. Behan and moved from Bismarck to Memphis, Tennessee , and then to St. Louis. There were still opportunities for a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River, and Marsh continued to work. For the next dozen years, he operated ferry boats and tugboats on the Mississippi, and following this he did

5074-405: The fancy food or shows seen on the tourist riverboats. In some cases, the traveller must provide their own food. As the major rivers in China are mostly east-west, most rail and road transport are typically north-south. As roads along the rivers are inadequate for heavy truck transport and in some cases extremely dangerous, drive-on/drive-off ramp barges are used to transport trucks. In many cases

5160-413: The five steamboats. He also operated a "snag" boat that traveled up and down the river, removing sunken "snag" trees and other underwater obstacles. In 1907, Marsh resigned his position with the Benton Packet Company and on August 23, he went aboard his former boat, Expansion , and confronted the pilot, William R. Massie, who he felt was being abusive. Massie subsequently charged Marsh with assault, and at

5246-404: The high winds or large waves characteristic to large lakes, seas or oceans. They can thus be built from light composite materials. They are limited in size by width and depth of the river as well as the height of bridges spanning the river. They can be designed with shallow drafts, as were the paddle wheel steamers on the Mississippi River that could operate in water under two metres deep. While

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5332-425: The last 300 river miles that traversed the remote "Missouri breaks" area. Steamboats would leave St. Louis early in the spring and try to get above the rapids on the spring rise in mid to late June. They would then try to get back downstream over the rapids before falling water levels made them more dangerous. A boat that stayed too late risked the rapids in low water, and also becoming icebound as winter set in. Marsh

5418-405: The mouth of Rosebud creek near Rosebud, Montana to the North Dakota border. The lack of dams along the river provides for excellent trout habitat from high inside Yellowstone Park, downstream through Gardiner , the Paradise Valley, Livingston, and to Big Timber , a stretch of nearly 200 miles (320 km). The Yellowstone varies in width from 74 feet (23 m) to 300 feet (91 m), so fishing

5504-420: The northern Great Plains past the city of Billings . East of Billings, it is joined by the Bighorn River . Farther downriver, it is joined by the Tongue near Miles City , and then by the Powder in eastern Montana. It flows into the Missouri River near Buford, North Dakota just upstream from Lake Sakakawea . The latter is a reservoir formed in 1953 by the Garrison Dam , built on the Missouri River within

5590-503: The pipeline company shut down the pipeline at 11 a.m. in effort to prevent further environmental hazards. The company stated that 300–1,200 oil barrels (equivalent to 12,600 to 50,400 US gallons) were spilled into the river. State officials estimated, on the other hand, up to 50,000 US gallons (190,000 L; 42,000 imp gal) of spilled oil. Benzene , a carcinogen , was found in ten to fifteen parts per billion. An EPA official said that "anything above five parts per billion

5676-406: The river Rhine . Upstream, boats were usually powered by sails or oars . In the Middle Ages, towpaths were built along most waterways to use working animals or people to pull riverboats. In the 19th century, steamboats became common. The most famous riverboats were on the rivers of the midwestern and central southern United States , on the Mississippi , Ohio and Missouri rivers in

5762-407: The river but was only able to reach the Kitsumkalum River . It was not until 1891 that the Hudson's Bay Company sternwheeler the Caledonia successfully negotiated through the Kitselas Canyon and reached Hazelton . A number of other steamers were built around the turn of the century, in part due to the growing fish industry and the gold rush . The WT Preston , a museum ship that was once

5848-440: The river for transportation, and generally entered the region by riverboat . Native American anger at settler encroachment on their hunting grounds led to Red Cloud's War . The conflict was settled with the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868, by which the US granted the territory of the Black Hills and the Powder River Country to the Lakota people. This region included the drainages of the Big Horn, Powder and Tongue rivers. But

5934-427: The river to the north entrance of the park near Gardiner. An ExxonMobil pipeline runs from Silver Tip, to Billings, Montana. On Friday, July 1, 2011, it ruptured about 10 miles (16 km) west of Billings at about 10:40 p.m. The resulting spill leaked an estimated 1,500 barrels of oil, equivalent to 63,000 US gallons (240,000 L; 52,000 imp gal), into the Yellowstone River for 56 minutes before it

6020-619: The river. On September 1, 2016, the agency reopened two stretches of the river. The first stretch, from the northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park to Carbella, Montana, was open to non-fishing recreation only to allow the fish population to recover. The second stretch, from Carbella, Montana to Laurel, Montana , was opened to all uses. Peak Yellowstone River temperatures exceeded 68 °F (20 °C) for 18 straight days from July 17 to August 4. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks notes that trout and whitefish prefer water temperatures close to 55 °F (13 °C). On January 26, 2021,

6106-405: The site of Custer's defeat. From Bismarck the first news of the massacre was disseminated to the nation via telegraph. Most noteworthy in riverboat lore, Marsh set a downriver steamboat speed record on this return voyage, traversing some 710 river miles in 54 hours. After railroads brought about the decline of riverboats on Montana rivers in the 1880s, Marsh continued to work as a steamboat pilot on

6192-405: The steamboat business on the Upper Missouri. The boats originally owned by this powerful syndicate were the Far West , Nellie Peck , Western , Key West , E. H. Durfee , Sioux City , and Mary McDonald . The upstarting company soon established a reputation for reliability in moving freight and in commanding men. During the 1870s they did military contract work, hauling supplies to posts along

6278-563: The steamboat is Steamboats on Western Rivers: An Economic and Technological History by Louis C. Hunter (1949). Terrace, British Columbia , Canada, celebrates "Riverboat Days" each summer. The Skeena River passes through Terrace and played a crucial role during the age of the steamboat. The first steam-powered vessel to enter the Skeena was the Union in 1864. In 1866 the Mumford attempted to ascend

6364-619: The stern of the boat and lines attached to the top of it pulling that end of the spar forward. Since the fulcrum of the spar is at the bow of the boat, that means that line would have to be pulling from somewhere well forward of the boat (such as a tree or an anchor). Anchors used at the time are described as not having much holding power in sandbars and the likelihood of a suitable tree being close enough to be of use seems low. Pilot George Byron Merrick described his experience "sparring off" sandbars in 1854-1863, and Captain Basil Hall described using

6450-518: The structural members. Of particular concern, one of the bridge piers had lost about half of its support capacity due to bridge scour undermining the pier footings. MDT awarded a $ 2 million emergency demolition contract on March 11, 2021. By the end of April 2021, construction crews had safely dismantled the failing structure, and the river reopened on May 26, 2021. On June 13, 2022, Yellowstone National Park officials announced all park entrances were closed to visitors, citing "record flooding events" and

6536-638: The transport business, and they had purchased a steamboat that was being constructed in the Pittsburgh boat yards, the F.Y. Batchelor . Marsh traveled to Pittsburgh and brought the boat to the Dakota Territory. In 1878, 1879, 1880, and 1881, he piloted the F.Y. Batchelor up the Missouri and then up the Yellowstone, bringing supplies to Fort Keogh (near present-day Miles City, Montana ) and Fort Custer (near present-day Hardin, Montana ). In August 1878, Marsh set another steamboat speed record when he piloted

6622-400: The trucks transported are new and are being delivered to customers or dealers. Perhaps unique to China, the new trucks observed traveling upstream were all blue, while the new trucks traveling downstream were all white. Low-value goods are transported on rivers and canals worldwide, since slow-speed barge traffic offers the lowest possible cost per ton mile and the capital cost per ton carried

6708-435: The upper stretches of the Yellowstone. Some scholars think that the river was instead named after yellow-colored sandstone bluffs on the lower Yellowstone. The Cheyenne , who lived in the areas of present-day Billings and Yellowstone County , called it Mo'éheo'hé'e (also Yellow Rocks River). The Crow , who lived along the upper Yellowstone in southern Montana, called it E-chee-dik-karsh-ah-shay (Elk River). Translating

6794-401: The way to the mouth of the Yellowstone River to deliver the fresh provisions to Fort Buford . Marsh met the special challenges that faced a riverboat pilot/captain on the Upper Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. He encountered Indians who shot at his boat and was delayed by buffalo herds crossing the river ahead of him. He winched his way up rapids with a current so strong that he had to attach

6880-411: Was a great demand for steamboat transport to carry passengers and freight to the "Upper Missouri" River terminus at Fort Benton, Montana . The trip from St. Louis to Fort Benton took 60 days or longer. Freight and passenger rates were high, and steamboat traffic was very lucrative—a single successful trip could pay the entire cost of a shallow-draft stern wheeler riverboat. There were rapids located in

6966-470: Was a major figure in upper Missouri River steamboat navigation from the earliest days of the Montana gold rush in 1862 until 1888. He was so confident in his piloting skills that he would operate on the upper Missouri late in the season, running the rapids in low water. In 1866 he became captain of the Louella at the age of 34. He brought the Louella to Fort Benton, but then stayed until September, embarking with

7052-547: Was put on hold for one month or more on February 3, 2015 until the ice melts. Montana Department of Environmental Quality was monitoring an area spanning a 90-mile (140 km) stretch of the Yellowstone, from the spill site downstream to a bridge just across the North Dakota border. On August 19, 2016 the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department indefinitely closed the river and its tributaries from Gardiner, Montana to Laurel, Montana to all recreational activity. The 183-mile (295 km) closure resulted from

7138-417: Was repeated until the sandbar was crossed. However, the length and position of the grasshoppering spars at the bow of the boat suggest that if the spars are to be used as a lever to lift/move the boat, it would be to back the boat off the sandbar, rather than attempt to propel it forward over the bar. If the spar were to be used to lever the boat forward, then it would have to be angled with its top toward

7224-535: Was selected by the Army for an exploratory expedition in 1873 on his riverboat Key West . The team was commanded by Brevet Brig. Gen. George Alexander Forsyth . Marsh kept a detailed log during the journey. The names he bestowed were recorded by an expedition representative of the War Department and applied to official maps; they include the following: The Yellowstone River had long been an important artery of transportation for Native Americans . The region around

7310-533: Was shut down. As a precaution against a possible explosion, officials in Laurel, Montana evacuated about 140 people on Saturday just after midnight, allowing them to return at 4 a.m. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer stated that "The parties responsible will restore the Yellowstone River". According to the Bridger Pipeline LLC, an oil spill occurred near Glendive on January 17, 2015, at 10 a.m. In response,

7396-444: Was supervised by Captain Marsh. That year Nellie Peck made her first journey up the Missouri River to Fort Benton. She made 13 more trips there during her career. After 1876, Marsh continued to work on the Missouri River. Late in 1877, he left the Coulson Packet Company, and in the spring of 1878 signed on with Joseph Leighton and Walter B. Jordan, who were Indian traders at Fort Buford, Dakota Territory. The traders wanted to get into

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