Crossing the River

01The Missouri is not easily ignored

The Missouri River bisects South Dakota with a finality that surprises first-time travelers. East of it: glacial till, potholes, cultivated fields, a gentler sky. West: shortgrass range, buttes, the Black Hills on the horizon. The river itself is wide, deliberate and lake-slow through much of the state, impounded behind a chain of dams that turned a muscular prairie river into a series of long reservoirs. Crossing it is not incidental — it is a genuine passage between two different landscapes.

02The crossings

Bridges are fewer than the map suggests. Interstate 90 crosses at Chamberlain, where the river runs between bluffs and the view from the bridge is the best argument for slowing down. US-83 crosses at Pierre, the state capital, connecting the eastern and western halves of the state — this is the practical crossing for travelers moving between the Badlands and the Coteau. US-12 crosses at Mobridge, well to the north, serving the upper reservoirs and the Standing Rock country. A handful of smaller bridges exist, but long stretches of the river offer nothing, and a missed crossing can mean an hour or more of backtracking.

A handful of smaller bridges exist, but long stretches of the river offer nothing, and a missed crossing can mean an hour or more of backtracking.

Lake Oahe, the reservoir behind Oahe Dam just north of Pierre, is so wide in places it reads less like a river than an inland sea. At its broadest it spans several miles, and the sheer scale reframes what a "crossing" means — the bridge at Pierre vaults over water that has no visible current and no obvious bank structure on the western side.

Elevations, ages and distances here are approximate and given as published. Ground conditions change; the terrain descriptions do not.

03Ground named in this piece

Lake OaheChamberlainPierreMobridge

Related ground

• The Missouri and Its BluffsThe Missouri River
• Oahe and the Big WaterThe Missouri River
• Pierre, on the RiverThe Missouri River