Water in Missouri Rivers Magically Began in Yellowstone Geysers?

I have been fortunate that the journeys of my life have included both Missouri and the area around Yellowstone National Park. Little did I know that both of those places are connected in a way that I never imagined - water.

I have to say that this is not something I realized before I saw this post on the Missouri sub-Reddit.

Map of the Missouri River watershed. Water from erupting Yellowstone geysers flows through Missouri
byu/como365 inmissouri

Does water from Yellowstone geysers really flow through Missouri?

The USGS confirms it does. They have a really long explanation called "the long journey of water from Yellowstone's hot springs and geysers to different oceans". The truth is the waters from Yellowstone geysers like Old Faithful go two directions - toward the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.

The Madison, Gardner and Yellowstone Rivers eventually meander into what becomes the Missouri River which obviously traverses America until it crosses Missouri and connects to the Mississippi River which makes the rest of the journey to the Gulf of Mexico.

Little did I know when I captured pics and video of Old Faithful so many years ago that the water there would eventually follow me home to Missouri. Incredible when you stop to think about it.