The book features 32 chapters by 35 historians, scientists and writers who explore the natural and human history of the waterway that defines much of the region served by the Center: Montana, the Dakotas, Nebraska, as well as parts of Minnesota and Iowa — extending into Kansas and Missouri. 

The book is arranged into seven sections:

• Peoples and Regions
• Explorers
• Literature and Art
• River Places
• Infrastructure
• Nature
• Politics