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Total streamflow across the
Musselshell River
was last observed at
471
cfs, and is expected to yield approximately
934
acre-ft of water today; about 37%
of normal.
River levels are low and may signify a drought.
Average streamflow for this time of year is
1,276 cfs,
with recent peaks last observed
on
2011-06-10 when daily discharge volume was observed at
51,070 cfs.
Maximum discharge along the river is currently at the
Musselshell River At Mosby Mt
reporting a streamflow rate of 176 cfs.
This is also the highest stage along the Musselshell River, with a gauge stage of
3.39 ft at this location.
This river is monitored from 6 different streamgauging stations along the Musselshell River, the highest being situated at an altitude of 4,668 ft, the
Musselshell River Nr Martinsdale.
| Last Updated | 2025-05-01 |
| Discharge Volume | 934 ACRE-FT |
| Streamflow |
470.8 cfs
-36.2 cfs (-7.14%) |
| Percent of Normal | 36.9% |
| Maximum |
51,070.0 cfs
2011-06-10 |
| Seasonal Avg | 1,276 cfs |
The Musselshell River is a tributary of the Missouri River, 341.9 miles (550.2 km) long from its origins at the confluence of its North and South Forks near Martinsdale, Montana to its mouth on the Missouri River. It is located east of the Continental divide entirely within Montana in the United States. Counting its pre-confluence tributaries, it measures 425–500 miles (684–805 km) in length.It rises in several forks in the Crazy, Little Belt, and Castle mountains in central Montana. The main branch is formed by the confluence of the North Fork and South Fork in Meagher County, about 25 miles (40 km) east of White Sulphur Springs, Montana, just east of Martinsdale, north of Martinsdale Reservoir, and just west of Meagher County's border with Wheatland County. The North Fork flows south from the Little Belt Mountains through Bair Reservoir, then southeast. The South Fork flows northeast from the Crazy Mountains. From the confluence of these two waterways, the main branch flows roughly due east past Two Dot, Harlowton, and Roundup, then turns north just past Melstone, and continues to the UL Bend on the Missouri River at the beginning of Fort Peck Reservoir.The Musselshell River has also been known as: Cockkleshell River, Mahtush-ahzhah, Muscleshell River, Mustleshell River, Shell River. The Musselshell was entered by the Lewis and Clark Expedition on May 20, 1805 and named by them for the freshwater mussels lining the bank, noting in their journals that the Minnetare people had given the waterway a similar name. The Blackfeet, who hunted buffalo and prepared the meat for winter in the Musselshell area, called it the Dried Meat River.
