It might come as a surprise, but an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 Mandan lived in and around the confluence of the Heart River and Missouri River in the 16th century, as cited by Elizabeth Fenn in her 2014 book, "Encounters at the Heart of the World: A history of the Mandan People."
And the Heart River, particularly the area around the confluence, represented the “hearth” of the world and was important to their creation story.
Starting in Billings County northwest of Belfield near the south unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the Heart River flows eastward through South Heart, Dickinson, Gladstone, then southeastward to Heart Butte Dam. The dam, south of Glen Ulin, is an earthen dam about 140 feet high and over 1,800 feet long which forms Lake Tschida, a 3,400-acre reservoir with around 50 miles of shoreline. From there, the river flows northeastward into the Missouri River just south of Mandan. Several small creeks feed the Heart River, many of which are seasonal.
The length of the Heart River is about 180 miles long, and drops a little over one thousand feet in elevation (2740 feet above sea level) from its source to the mouth (1624 feet above sea level). With a watershed of over 3,000 acres, as one might expect, the flow rates vary widely.
Fish occupying the river include walleye, northern pike, channel catfish, and smallmouth bass.
Meteor showers coming up
A reminder that the Delta Aquarids meteor shower runs roughly from July 12 to August 23. The meteors will appear to originate within the constellation Aquarius but can be observed anywhere in the sky.
This meteor shower is known to not have a particularly distinctive peak viewing period, instead varying from around 10-20 meteors per hour, but a peak of sorts is expected on or around July 28. A full moon will occur on July 29 which will interfere with viewing. Plus, the Delta Aquarids overlaps with the Perseids Meteor Shower which will run from July 17 through August 24.
