Modern Missouri River - St. Charles, Missouri
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 38° 47.609 W 090° 28.405
15S E 719431 N 4296891
Marker about the transforming of the Missouri River located in St. Charles Ecopark (Blanchette Landing).
Waymark Code: WM57Q2
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 11/24/2008
Views: 17
Modern Missouri River
The modern Missouri River has changed greatly since St. Charles was
founded in 1769. The river, for example is now straighter and shorter (72
miles shorter in it lower third). Why does the Missouri look so different
today? Starting with snag boats that removed countless tee limbs from the
river, we reshaped the Big Muddy to make boat travel easier.
Now the Missouri is a single 300-foot-wide navigation channel maintained
at 9 feet deep. That means a stable current of 3-7 mph. Wing dikes,
bank reinforcements, and levees prevent the river from spreading into the into
the floodplain and increase the power of floods. Six large upstream
reservoirs built between 1940 and 1964 removed sediment form the Missouri River.
Fish that need a muddy Big Muddy -- pallid sturgeon, flat head chub, and
plains minnow -are in trouble. Projects such notching dikes and creating
secondary channels are now underway to help native Missouri River fish. ~
text of marker