Missoula is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five mountain ranges, and thus it is often described as the "hub of five valleys". The 2020 United States census recorded the city's population at 73,489 and the population of the Missoula Metropolitan Area at 117,922. As of 2023, the estimated city population was 77,757. Missoula is the second largest city and metropolitan area in Montana. Missoula is home to the University of Montana, a public research university.
Lake Missoula was a prehistoric proglacial lake in western Montana that existed periodically at the end of the last ice age between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago. The lake measured about 7,770 square kilometres (3,000 sq mi) and contained about 2,100 cubic kilometres (500 cu mi) of water, half the volume of Lake Michigan.
The Clark Fork, or the Clark Fork of the Columbia River, is a river in the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho, approximately 310 miles (500 km) long. The largest river by volume in Montana, it drains an extensive region of the Rocky Mountains in western Montana and northern Idaho in the watershed of the Columbia River. The river flows northwest through a long valley at the base of the Cabinet Mountains and empties into Lake Pend Oreille in the Idaho Panhandle. The Pend Oreille River in Idaho, Washington, and British Columbia, Canada which drains the lake to the Columbia in Washington, is sometimes included as part of the Clark Fork, giving it a total length of 479 miles (771 km), with a drainage area of 25,820 square miles (66,900 km2). In its upper 20 miles (32 km) in Montana near Butte, it is known as Silver Bow Creek. Interstate 90 follows much of the upper course of the river from Butte to Saint Regis. The highest point within the river's watershed is Mount Evans at 10,641 feet (3,243 m) in Deer Lodge County, Montana along the Continental Divide.
Downtown Spokane or Riverside is the central business district of Spokane, Washington. The Riverside neighborhood is roughly bounded by I-90 to the south, Division Street to the east, Monroe Street to the west and Boone Avenue to the north. The topography of Downtown Spokane is mostly flat except for areas downstream of the Spokane Falls which are located in a canyon; the elevation is approximately 1,900 feet (580 m) above sea level.
Downtown Paterson is the main commercial district of Paterson, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The area is the oldest part of the city, along the banks of the Passaic River and its Great Falls. It is roughly bounded by Interstate 80, Garret Mountain Reservation, Route 19, Oliver Street, and Spruce Street on the south; the Passaic River, West Broadway, Cliff Street, North 3rd Street, Haledon Avenue, and the borough of Prospect Park on the west; and the Passaic River also to the north.
Downtown Grand Forks is the original commercial center of Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. Located on the western bank of the Red River of the North, the downtown neighborhood is situated near the fork of the Red River and the Red Lake River. While downtown is no longer the dominant commercial area of the Greater Grand Forks community, it remains the historic center of Grand Forks. An 80.4-acre (32.5 ha) portion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, as Downtown Grand Forks Historic District. Today, downtown Grand Forks is home to many offices, stores, restaurants, and bars.
The Milltown Reservoir Sediments Superfund Site is a major Superfund site in Missoula County, Montana, seven miles east of Missoula. It was added to the National Priorities List in 1983 when arsenic groundwater contamination was found in the Milltown area. The contamination resulted from a massive flood three years after its construction in 1905, which washed millions of tons of mine waste into the Clark Fork River, ultimately ending up behind the Milltown Dam.
Hell Gate is a ghost town at the western end of the Missoula Valley in Missoula County, Montana, United States. The town was located on the banks of the Clark Fork River roughly five miles downstream from present-day Missoula near what is now Frenchtown.
Providence St. Patrick Hospital, is a health care facility in Missoula, Montana.
The Garlington Building is a building in Downtown Missoula, Montana. It is located at the 350 Ryman St. The building is a postmodern design. The building's abbreviated name is the GLR Building. It was the first project in Montana financed with federal New Markets Tax Credits.
A Carousel for Missoula is a volunteer-built, hand-carved carousel in Missoula, Montana, located on the Clark Fork River in Missoula's downtown Caras Park within walking distance of the historic Wilma Theatre, Jeannette Rankin Peace Center and Osprey baseball stadium. The carousel is accompanied by a volunteer-built park, Dragon Hollow.
The First Interstate Center, or First Interstate Bank Building, is a building in the heart of Downtown Missoula, Montana. It is located at 310 West Front Street. It is one of many post-modern buildings recently built in Missoula. Standing at 6 floors it is one of the tallest in Missoula, and with 118,000 square feet (11,000 m2) of space, it is the largest square footage office building in Missoula.
The First Security Bank is a low-rise building in the heart of Downtown Missoula, Montana. It is located at 100 East Broadway.
Albert John Gibson was one of the most prominent and well-known architects in Missoula, Montana who designed a number of buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Rock Creek is a 52-mile (84 km) river in Missoula and Granite County, Montana. Rock Creek is a tributary of the Clark Fork river. The river's headwaters are in Lolo National Forest near Phillipsburg, Montana. The river roughly parallels the Sapphire Mountains and enters the Clark Fork of the Columbia River near Clinton, Montana. Sapphires are found along the river.
The history of Missoula, Montana begins as early as 12,000 years ago with the end of the region's glacial lake period with western exploration dating back to the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804–1806. The first permanent settlement was founded in 1860.
The culture of Missoula, Montana is influenced by the nearby University of Montana in art, sports, and music with the city's location in a mountain river valley also encouraging outdoor events and recreation.
Capt. Christopher Powers Higgins was an American Army captain and later businessman who with Frank Worden founded the Hellgate Trading Post and the nearby city of Missoula, Montana. He erected one of the first lumber and flouring mills on the Clark Fork River near present Downtown Missoula as well as many of Missoula's first buildings and establishments. He was one of the original county commissioners, member of first legislature of the Montana Territory, and incorporator of The Montana Historical Society. Higgins Avenue and bridge as well as the Higgins block in Downtown Missoula are named after him. He is buried in Missoula Cemetery.
U.S. Highway 93 is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the state of Montana.
