One of the World’s Shortest Rivers is in Montana

Growing up in the Montana school system, I remember my 7th-grade history class focused on Montana history. Yet, some of the most interesting things I've learned about Montana, I didn't learn in that class.

I went to the Museum of the Rockies as a kid, but somehow missed the fact that Montana is where the first Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton was found.

I also didn't know until I was an adult that Wheat Montana holds the Guinness Record for "Fastest Field to Loaf Microwave."

But I was today years old when I learned that one of the shortest rivers in the world is in Montana, and I'm wondering, how did I miss that?

Montana Rivers

Flyfishing, the continental divide, Norman Maclean--these are some of the most common associations with Montana rivers. But for years a Montana river was considered the shortest river in the world.

Roe River, Great Falls, Montana

The Roe River is only 201 feet long and for a long time was the shortest river in the world thanks to a Guinness World Record. NBC Montana says it was listed as the shortest river between 1989 and 2000. According to Wikipedia, the Guinness category was discontinued in 2006. Since then, another river in the world has been determined to be even shorter. The Reprua River in the Republic of Abkhazia is only 59 feet long.

READ MORE: The Reviews Are in For Montana's New State Park 

Still, the Roe River is a beautiful spot inside Giant Springs State Park, also home to "one of the largest freshwater springs in the country" according to Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. It's kind of amazing that two such interesting water features are in the same location.