The Knife River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 120 mi (193 km) long, in North Dakota in the United States.
It rises in west central North Dakota, in the Killdeer Mountains in Billings County. It flows east, and is joined by Spring Creek near Beulah. It joins the Missouri north of Stanton, at the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site.
Much of the terrain surrounding the river valley still remains in native grasslands, supporting many species of wildlife, including Whitetail Deer, Mule Deer, Coyote, Fox, Native Grouse, Pheasant, etc. Many of the small tributaries such as the Little Knife support local farms and ranches; some have been family owned for over 100 years. Some of the larger ranches include the Circle Five Ranch, Dressler Ranch, and Greenshield Ranch.
The river consistently floods after spring melting (frequently as high as 10,000 cfs) but is two to three magnitudes lower during the summer months. The confluence of the river (near Stanton, ND) was largely blocked by sand after the Missouri River flood of 2011 but had cut a new channel by the summer of 2012.
Famous quotes containing the words knife and/or river:
“When she, and though some said she played
I said that she had danced heart’s truth,
Drew a knife to strike him dead,
I could but leave him to his fate;
For, no matter what is said,
They had all that had their hate....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“The name of the town isn’t important. It’s the one that’s just twenty-eight minutes from the big city. Twenty-three if you catch the morning express. It’s on a river and it’s got houses and stores and churches. And a main street. Nothing fancy like Broadway or Market, just plain Broadway. Drug, dry good, shoes. Those horrible little chain stores that breed like rabbits.”
—Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1909–1993)