Annalies Corbin

Shifting sand and muddy water: Historic cartography and river migration as factors in locating steamboat wrecks on the far upper Missouri River

Steamboating on the Missouri River began in 1819 and, by 1860 Fort Benton, Montana Territory was established as the world’s innermost port. Between 1819 and the mid-1920s more than 1,000 vessels were lost and subsequently forgotten on the Missouri River. Missouri River migration is investigated as a primary factor in predicting, locating, and assessing inland river wreck sites today. The study examines three historic river surveys conducted in 1867, 1874, and from 1892 to 1897, plus modern aerial photography for clues suggesting the location of steamboat wreck sites and information useful in predicting site conditions and site formation processes prior to archaeological disturbance.