Clearwater River (Idaho)

Clearwater River
Clearwater River
	Idaho County
• coordinates	46°08′28″N 115°35′53″W / 46.14111°N 115.59806°W
• elevation	1,453 ft (443 m)
2nd source	Idaho County
• coordinates	45°52′09″N 115°18′32″W / 45.86917°N 115.30889°W
• elevation	4,285 ft (1,306 m)
Source confluence	Kooskia
• location	Idaho County
• coordinates	46°08′45″N 115°58′56″W / 46.14583°N 115.98222°W
• elevation	1,220 ft (370 m)
Nez Perce County
• coordinates	46°25′30″N 117°02′14″W / 46.42500°N 117.03722°W
• elevation	741 ft (226 m)
Length	74.8 mi (120.4 km), Southeast-northwest
Basin size	9,645 sq mi (24,980 km2)
Discharge
• average	15,300 cu ft/s (430 m3/s)
• maximum	109,000 cu ft/s (3,100 m3/s)
Basin features
River system	Snake River
Tributaries
• left	South Fork Clearwater River
• right	Middle Fork Clearwater River, North Fork Clearwater River, Potlatch River

The Clearwater River is in the northwestern United States, in north central Idaho. Its length is 74.8 miles (120.4 km),^[1] it flows westward from the Bitterroot Mountains along the Idaho-Montana border, and joins the Snake River at Lewiston. In October 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition descended the Clearwater River in dugout canoes, putting in at "Canoe Camp," five miles (8 km) downstream from Orofino; they reached the Columbia Bar and the Pacific Ocean about six weeks later.

By average discharge, the Clearwater River is the largest tributary of the Snake River. The River got its name for the

Niimiipuutímt naming as Koos-Koos-Kia - "clear water".^[3]

The drainage basin of the Clearwater River is 9,645 square miles (24,980 km²). Its mean annual discharge is 15,300 cubic feet per second (430 m³/s)^[4]

Course

In the small town of

Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness to the south. From the confluence, the Clearwater flows northwest, passing the Heart of the Monster site of the Nez Perce National Historical Park. U.S. Route 12 follows the river to Kamiah

, where Lawyer Creek from the southwest joins it.

The river continues northwest through a canyon to the confluence with Lolo Creek from the east. It soon passes the town of

Dworshak Reservoir

. After the North Fork contributes its flow, the Clearwater continues west and receives Big Canyon Creek from the south and Bedrock Creek from the north.

As the river canyon cuts deeper into the

Washington

state line, it joins its waters with the Snake River.

Tributaries

The Clearwater breaks into several separate forks:

Clearwater River (west of Orofino to Lewiston-Snake River)
- Potlatch River (Latah, Clearwater and Nez Perce Counties)
- North Fork Clearwater River (stream, Clearwater County - 46°29′59″N 116°19′49″W / 46.49972°N 116.33028°W / 46.49972; -116.33028; headwaters near Illinois Peak to just west of Orofino)
  - Little North Fork Clearwater River (stream, Shoshone & Clearwater Counties; headwaters in south-central Shoshone County, joins the North Fork in the Dworshak Reservoir)
- Middle Fork Clearwater River (stream, Idaho County - 46°08′43″N 115°58′56″W / 46.14528°N 115.98222°W / 46.14528; -115.98222; formed by the confluence of the Selway and Lochsa at Lowell)
- South Fork Clearwater River (stream, Idaho County - 46°08′44″N 115°58′56″W / 46.14556°N 115.98222°W / 46.14556; -115.98222; headwaters near Red River Hot Springs to Kooskia, confluence with the Middle Fork)
  - Little Clearwater River (stream, Idaho County - 45°45′11″N 114°46′31″W / 45.75306°N 114.77528°W / 45.75306; -114.77528; near Three Prong Mountain to near Spot Mountain)

River modifications

The Dworshak Reservoir is the only major lake on the Clearwater system, created from the Dworshak Dam, completed in the early 1970s. Dworshak Dam is on the North Fork of the Clearwater River and is just northwest of Orofino. There is no fish ladder; the dam blocks salmon and steelhead passage.

History

The border between

Washington and Idaho was defined as the meridian running north from the confluence of the Clearwater River and the Snake River. Although this border is often referred to as the 117th meridian west longitude, the actual border line is slightly west (less than 2 miles) of the 117th meridian.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. "The National Map". Archived from the original on 2012-03-29., accessed May 3, 2011
^ "USGS Gage #13343000 on the Clearwater River near Lewiston". National Water Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
^ Rees, John E. (1918). Idaho Chronology, Nomenclature, Bibliography. W.B. Conkey Company. p. 64.
^ "Clearwater Subbasin Plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2008-09-13., Northwest Power and Conservation Council
^ "Washington State Constitution". Archived from the original on 2005-12-24. Article XXIV Boundaries

External links

"Clearwater River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior., USGS GNIS

[NHD-1] U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. "The National Map". Archived from the original on 2012-03-29., accessed May 3, 2011

[NWISpeak-2] "USGS Gage #13343000 on the Clearwater River near Lewiston". National Water Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2010-03-09.

[3] Rees, John E. (1918). Idaho Chronology, Nomenclature, Bibliography. W.B. Conkey Company. p. 64.

[nwcouncil-4] "Clearwater Subbasin Plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2008-09-13., Northwest Power and Conservation Council

[5] "Washington State Constitution". Archived from the original on 2005-12-24. Article XXIV Boundaries

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Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	Israel United States