Yellowstone River
| Yellowstone River | |
|---|---|
Yellowstone Falls on the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park | |
Map of the Yellowstone River watershed | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States of America |
| State | Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Confluence of North and South Forks |
| • location | Absaroka Range, Wyoming |
| • coordinates | 43°59′18″N 109°55′45″W / 43.98833°N 109.92917°W |
| Mouth | Missouri River |
• location | McKenzie County, near Buford, North Dakota |
• coordinates | 47°58′42″N 103°58′56″W / 47.97833°N 103.98222°W |
| Length | 692 mi (1,114 km) |
| Basin size | 70,000 sq mi (180,000 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Sidney, MT |
| • average | 13,773 cu ft/s (390.0 m3/s) |
| • minimum | 3,108 cu ft/s (88.0 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 159,000 cu ft/s (4,500 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Gardner River, Shields River |
| • right | Lamar River, Boulder River, Stillwater River, Big Horn River, Tongue River, Powder 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 the 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 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.