Missouri Breaks

Missouri Breaks

The Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument is a national monument in the western United States, protecting the Missouri Breaks of north central Montana. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), it is a series of badland areas characterized by rock outcroppings, steep bluffs, and grassy plains; a topography referred to as "The Breaks" by locals (as the land appears to "break away" to the river).Created by proclamation in 2001 by President Bill Clinton on January 17, it encompasses 377,000 acres (589 sq mi; 1,526 km2), of public lands, most of which were already managed by the federal government. The adjacent Missouri River was designated a Wild and Scenic River in 1976 and forms a western boundary while the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge is to the east. The Breaks country was a model for many of the paintings done by painter Charles M. Russell.

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