Missouri National Recreational River

The Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network monitors bats to detect long-term trends in bat populations at Missouri National Recreational River. Acoustic recorders detect the unique ultrasonic calls bats use for echolocation. Monitoring helps protect the bat communities that live and forage in the park.

Across the US, changes in water availability are altering which plants grow where. These changes are evident at a broad scale. But not all areas experience the same climate in the same way, even within the boundaries of a single national park. A new dataset gives park managers a valuable tool for understanding why vegetation has changed and how it might change in the future under different climate-change scenarios.

Many now-arid western parks, including Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Mesa Verde National Park, were inundated by the Cretaceous Interior Seaway that bisected North America. Massive dinosaur and other reptile fossils are found in Cretaceous rocks of Big Bend National Park.

The different members of the Corps of Discovery came from varied, unique backgrounds, and because of those backgrounds brought a variety of useful skills to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Many of the skills and abilities possessed by Corps members translate well to the different events of the modern-day Olympics. As such, we’ve compiled a list of Olympic events, and which members of the Corps of Discovery had the best shot at bringing home gold!

The lands surrounding the river corridors of Missouri National Recreational River support a broad diversity of ecosystems, ranging from wetlands and sand bars to cottonwood and bur oak woodlands as well as native prairie and grasslands. These diverse habitats support an equally diverse community of birds, including the endangered interior least tern and the threatened piping plover. Landbird surveys at Missouri National Recreational River started in 2015.

The Mesozoic Era (251.9 to 66 million years ago) was the "Age of Reptiles." During the Mesozoic, Pangaea began separating into the modern continents, and the modern Rocky Mountains rose. Dinosaurs, crocodiles, and pterosaurs ruled the land and air. As climate changed and rapid plate tectonics resulted in shallow ocean basins, sea levels rose world-wide and seas expanded across the center of North America.

Missouri National Recreational River is an amazing place to explore in person and online. Become a MNRR Junior Ranger today by participating in our online activities that will help you explore the park virtually!

Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park.