The Little Bighorn River is a 138 miles (222.1 km) tributary of the Bighorn River

Bighorn River

The Bighorn River is a tributary of the Yellowstone, approximately long, in the western United States in the states of Wyoming and Montana. The river was named in 1805 by fur trader François Larocque for the Bighorn Sheep he saw along its banks as he explored the Yellowstone River.The upper...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in the states of Wyoming

Wyoming

Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

 and Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

. The Battle of the Little Bighorn

Battle of the Little Bighorn

The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...

 was fought on its banks in 1876, as well as the Battle of Crow Agency in 1887.

The Little Bighorn rises in extreme northern Wyoming, along the north side of the Bighorn Mountains. It flows northward into Montana and across the Crow Indian Reservation

Crow Indian Reservation

The Crow Indian Reservation is the homeland of the Crow Tribe of Indians of the State of Montana in the United States. The reservation is located in parts of Big Horn, Yellowstone, and Treasure counties in southern Montana...

, past the towns of Wyola

Wyola, Montana

Wyola is a census-designated place in Big Horn County, Montana, United States. The population was 186 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Wyola is located at ....

, Lodge Grass

Lodge Grass, Montana

Lodge Grass is a town in Big Horn County, Montana, United States. The population was 510 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lodge Grass is located at ....

 and Crow Agency

Crow Agency, Montana

Crow Agency is a census-designated place in Big Horn County, Montana, United States and is near the actual location for the Little Bighorn National Monument and re-enactment known as Custer's Last Stand...

, and joins the Bighorn near the town of Hardin

Hardin, Montana

Hardin is a city in and the county seat of Big Horn County, Montana, United States. The population was 3,384 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hardin is located at ....

.

The battle site, now included in the grounds of Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument preserves the site of the June 25, 1876, Battle of the Little Bighorn, near Crow Agency, Montana, in the United States. It also serves as a memorial to those who fought in the battle: George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry and a combined Lakota-Northern...

, is approximately five miles south of Crow Agency, on the eastern side of the river.

Variant names

The Little Bighorn River has also been known as: Custer River, Greasy Grass River (Lakota name) and Great Horn River.

See also

• List of Wyoming rivers
• List of rivers of Montana
• Montana Stream Access Law
  Montana Stream Access Law
  The Montana Stream Access Law says that anglers, floaters and other recreationists in Montana have full use of most natural waterways between the high water marks for fishing and floating, along with swimming and other river or stream-related activities...