Missouri geology and topography map courtesy of USGS: A Tapestry of Time and Terrain.
What does "Missouri" mean?
The name Missouri originates from the native American Sioux of the state called the Missouris. All State Name Origins
The Smithsonian Bureau of American Ethnology states that Missouri means town of the large canoes. Other authorities say the original native American syllables (from which the word came) mean wooden canoe people, he of the big canoe, or river of the big canoes.