Lake Sharpe - Big Bend Dam: Archeology, History, Geology

The Inter-Agency Archeological Salvage Program was organized to preserve and interpret the paleontological, archeological, and historic remains scheduled for destruction by federal water control and hydroelectric projects. The program is ad­ ministered by the U. S. National Park Service with the advice and active participation of the Smithsonian Institution. Federal funds provide support for much of the work, but state, local, and even private monies have been utilized.
The excavation and recording of historic and prehistoric sites is but one aspect of the program. The material objects re­ covered, artifacts such as arrow points, pottery, military insignia, and the like, are preserved in the U. S. National Museum, in specialized museums of the National Park Service, or in the repositories of the participating states. Here they are reminders of the past—public property, equally available to all.
The Inter-Agency Archeological Salvage Program operates over the entire United States. The Missouri Basin includes approximately one-sixth of the land area of the continental United States, exclusive of Alaska. Ten states - Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, fall within the boundaries of the basin. Six major dams have been built along the main stem, and innumerable smaller projects have affected tributary streams.

跨机构考古救援计划（Inter-Agency Archeological Salvage Program）旨在保护并解读因联邦水利管控与水电工程即将遭到损毁的古生物、考古及历史遗存。本计划由美国国家公园管理局（U. S. National Park Service）牵头实施，并得到史密森学会（Smithsonian Institution）的顾问支持与积极参与。项目的大部分经费由联邦财政拨款，但同时也吸纳了州级、地方乃至私人资金的投入。

对历史及史前遗址的发掘与记录，仅是本计划的其中一项工作内容。出土的各类实物遗存，如箭镞、陶器、军事徽章等文物，均被妥善保存于美国国家博物馆（U. S. National Museum）、国家公园管理局下属的专题博物馆，或是参与机构所在州的藏品库房中。这些遗存皆是过往历史的见证，属于全民所有的公共财产，可供所有公众平等查阅与参观。

跨机构考古救援计划的业务范围覆盖美国全境。密苏里河流域（不含阿拉斯加州）的面积约占美国本土陆地总面积的六分之一。密苏里河流域涵盖密苏里州、艾奥瓦州、明尼苏达州、堪萨斯州、内布拉斯加州、北达科他州、南达科他州、科罗拉多州、怀俄明州及蒙大拿州共10个州。密苏里河干流上已兴建6座大型水坝，另有无数小型水利工程对支流流域造成了影响。