Rock Formations on the Upper Missouri

If you could only see how many photos I have of my recent trip on the Upper Missouri River through the White Cliffs, you would be impressed! Some are better than others but the landscape is so beautiful, most photos turn out that way too.

This amazingly square-looking rock just seemed so imposing, yet it was set back from the water and seemed to just jut upwards from the ground. At first glance it looked like a walled city or a fortress. Very amazing, and the sky was beautiful at the time I took the photo.

We were traveling downstream from Coal Banks Landing, a BLM campground and launch site about 40 river miles from Fort Benton. The river is designated Wild & Scenic and the surrounding area is the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument.

I call these rock formations hoo-doos. In my opinion, the best way to describe them is rocks that look like mushrooms. It doesn’t seem like they would stand up with the heaviest part at the top – and this is rock! Everyone in my group had fun describing what the unique  formations looked like to them.

If you stop your boat and get out and explore some of the area you may see some pictographs on the rocks left by Native Americans when they frequented this area.

The rocks are sandstone so each time you travel this river the scenery could be different. And, that’s a good enough reason for me to schedule another river trip!