page_title: LaBarge Rock
section_title: Missouri River White Cliffs
hierarchical_section_title: LaBarge Rock / Missouri River White Cliffs
caption_attribution_description: Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, Montana, United States
context_page_description: LaBarge Rock in Chouteau County, Montana is a dramatic landform in the shape of a large rock column or pillar, rising 150 feet from waters' edge of the Missouri River. It was named in honor of Captain Joseph LaBarge, a steamboat captain who cruised the Missouri River in the mid nineteenth century. Besides having a striking appearance, LaBarge Rock is located in a picturesque riverside setting which has attracted artists and photographers over two centuries. Access is difficult; the pillar is located at Missouri River BLM mile-mark 56 in the White Cliffs section of the remote Missouri Breaks area of Montana. The pillar is composed of massive dark alkilik igneous rock, in striking contrast to the long white sandstone cliffs that form its backdrop. Because of the isolation of the Missouri Breaks area LaBarge Rock and the White Cliffs appear today much as they did when seen by Lewis and Clark in 1804 on the outward leg of their journey of exploration.
context_section_description: LaBarge Rock is part of the White Cliffs (aka White Canyon or White Rocks) region of the Missouri, along with other natural features and cultural sites in this area.  It is named for the extensive cliffs of white sandstone/shale that appear on both banks of the river for long stretches.  This section of the river is within the remote and isolated Missouri Breaks.  Because of the White Cliffs' arresting appearance which received recent exposure from Stephen Ambrose's book on the Lewis and Clark's Expedition, "Undaunted Courage", there have been growing numbers wishing to float this portion of the Missouri from Coal Banks Landing (BLM Mile 41) to Judith Landing (BLM Mile 88).
caption: Boaters in the White Cliffs section of Missouri River in the Missouri Breaks (LaBarge Rock not pictured)
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