The city of Great Falls is named after a series of 5 waterfalls flowing downstream on the Missouri River, running through the heart of town.  Within this 15-mile stretch of the river exists an overall elevation change of over 500′.  This dramatic drop in the river gave the Corps of Discovery, led by Lewis and Clark, a hard time on their historical westward expedition in July, 1805.

Going overland around the falls was such a challenge that it took them a month to move everything upstream above the last waterfall – a scant 18-mile journey.  This area is considered the Great Falls portage, the midpoint of their westward journey that symbolizes the most grueling stretch of the expedition to this point.

We delved into the Portage at Great Falls at the Lewis and Clark National Historic Interpretive Center, viewing the exhibits that chronicle the entire route of the Corps of Discovery.  We watched a 30-minute video that brought to life the experiences of that historic expedition.  It reminded us that we’ve intersected and visited many sections of the Lewis and Clark Trail as we’ve zig-zagged along during our travels .

The 5 waterfalls (Colter, Black Eagle, Ryan, Rainbow and Crooked Falls) made the city of Great Falls “the Electric City”, as each one (except Colter, which is submerged now) sported a hydroelectric dam.  Lewis and Clark could never imagine that the obstacles stalling their journey could turn into projects that would meet the region’s energy needs.

On June 13, 1805, Lewis set out in search of the falls of the Missouri River, which the Mandan Indians had alerted him to.  Within one day he not only discovered the Great Falls, but went on to find four more.  On our visit we saw the same waterfalls, similar in appearance except for the dams constructed behind them.

 

The second fall Lewis saw was what he called Crooked Falls:

During the expedition he saw another, saying: “here the river pitches over a shelving rock, with an edge as regular and straight as if formed by art, without a niche or break in it; the water descends in one even and uninterrupted sheet…”

Two miles above Rainbow Falls, Lewis came upon the fifth cataract, 26′ high and nearly 600 yards wide.  He called it simply “upper pitch”, and it was later renamed Black Eagle Falls.

Following the Rivers Edge Trail along the both sides of the Missouri River provided us not only with scenic views of the river, dams and waterfalls, but also a variety of wildlife, grasslands and other attractions.  It traverses the Lewis and Clark National Historic Interpretive Center, the Giant Springs State Park and a protected river frontage lined with commercial and business development.  This is one of those times when we really missed our bikes 😦

Walking along, we came across the historic Giant Springs landmark, also discovered by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805.  It’s one of the largest freshwater springs in the country. I jumped when a rattlesnake rattled next to the path as I walked by, but by the time Steve got there to save me it was gone.  No picture of that snake!

Giant Springs feeds into Roe River, which is only 201′ long and was once listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s shortest river.

And here’s just a few of the many wildlife along the river.

 

 

Just minutes from Great Falls is the First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park, an archaeological site.  Long before the arrival of Lewis and Clark, native people used this site for at least a thousand years.  The term “first people” refers to the indigenous peoples in the area and is preferred over terms like Native American and Indian.

There are more than 300 buffalo kill sites in Montana, and First People’s Buffalo Jump is one of only three protected buffalo jumps in the state.  It consists of a mile-long sandstone cliff; there are remnants of drive lines on top of the cliff that hold up to 18′ of compacted buffalo remains below.

Here we followed the 3-mile loop from the visitor center to the jump.  With a trail guide in hand, we learned about the first people, the prairie and the buffalo jump story.

Buffalo jumps were a way to kill large numbers of the animals at one time without many of the risks associated with a close-proximity ambush.  Once the animals were driven over the cliff and incapacitated, they would be slaughtered.  Their meat, hides, and bones would be used by the hunters to feed and clothe their families, and to make various tools and weapons.

The visitor center had exhibits of archaeological evidence showing this place as a well-used hunting and food processing area for hundreds of years.  The kind of bones and artifacts at the foot of the cliff confirm that the bison were killed and at least partially butchered where they fell.

While there are no more bison roaming around here, we can only imagine what the stampede might have been like.  We did see a few critters during our walk, though:

 

Next up:  Breathtaking Glacier National Park

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