Milk River (Alberta–Montana)
Milk River | ||
---|---|---|
State Montana | | |
Province | Alberta | |
Physical characteristics | ||
Source | Confluence of South and Middle Forks | |
• location | Glacier County, Montana | |
• coordinates | 48°51′20″N 113°01′10″W / 48.85556°N 113.01944°W[1] | |
• elevation | 4,403 ft (1,342 m) | |
Mouth | Missouri River | |
• location | Valley County, Montana | |
• coordinates | 48°03′26″N 106°19′07″W / 48.05722°N 106.31861°W[1] | |
• elevation | 2,024 ft (617 m) | |
Length | 729 mi (1,173 km) | |
Basin size | 23,800 sq mi (62,000 km2)[2] | |
Discharge | ||
• location | Nashua, Montana, 22.7 mi (36.5 km) from the mouth[3] | |
• average | 618 cu ft/s (17.5 m3/s)[4] | |
• minimum | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) | |
• maximum | 45,300 cu ft/s (1,280 m3/s) |
Milk River
Geography
It is formed in
The main stream flows east-northeast into southern Alberta, where it is joined by the
The watershed of the river extends into the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan and the US state of Montana. The watershed of the river covers an area of 61,642 km2 (23,800 sq mi). Of this 6,500 km2 (2,510 sq mi) lies in Alberta, 14,942 km2 (5,769 sq mi) in Saskatchewan and the remaining in Montana.[7] The area in Alberta and Saskatchewan is one of the only parts of the Mississippi River watershed that extends into Canada.
River | Location | Discharge |
---|---|---|
North Fork Milk River | US-Canada Border | 99 cu ft/s (2.8 m3/s)[8] |
South Fork Milk River | near Browning | 98 cu ft/s (2.8 m3/s)[9] |
Milk River | Nashua | 618 cu ft/s (17.5 m3/s) |
History
The Milk River was given its name by Captain Meriwether Lewis,[10] of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, who described the river in his journal:
The water of this river possesses a peculiar whiteness, being about the colour of a cup of tea with the admixture of a tablespoon full of milk. from the colour of its water we called it Milk river.
This appearance results from clays and silts suspended in its waters. These fine-grained sediments result from the erosion of soft clay-rich rocks along the Milk River basin in southern Alberta, such as the
At the time of Lewis's exploration, the Milk River drainage was legally part of the United States as a component of the
In 1908, the waters of the Milk River were the subject of a
Habitat
The Milk River area consists of three drainage basins – the Lost River Valley to the northeast, the Milk River in the middle, and the Kennedy Coulee to the southeast. The landscape consists of native grasslands, riparian cottonwood groves,
See also
- Montana Stream Access Law
- List of longest rivers of Canada
- List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem)
- List of rivers of Montana
- List of rivers of Alberta
- List of tributaries of the Missouri River
References
- ^ a b "Milk River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 1980-04-04. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- ^ "Overview of the Milk River Watershed". Milk River Watershed Council Canada. Archived from the original on July 29, 2013.
- ^ "USGS Gage #06174500 on the Milk River at Nashua, MT" (PDF). National Water Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. 2010. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- ^ "USGS Gage #06174500 on the Milk River at Nashua, MT" (PDF). National Water Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. 2010. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- ^ "Milk River". Canadian Geographical Names Database. Government of Canada. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- ^ "Milk River Project". Milk River Watershed Council Canada. Archived from the original on 2012-02-26. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
- U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- ^ "USGS Surface Water data for Montana: USGS Surface-Water Annual Statistics".
- ^ "USGS Surface Water data for Montana: USGS Surface-Water Annual Statistics".
- ^ "The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition". University of Nebraska. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
- ^ Prior, G. J., Hathaway, B., Glombick, P.M., Pana, D.I., Banks, C.J., Hay, D.C., Schneider, C.L., Grobe, M., Elgr, R., and Weiss, J.A. (2013). "Bedrock Geology of Alberta. Alberta Geological Survey, Map 600". Archived from the original on 2013-09-25. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Milk River Canyon and Area". IBA Canada. Birds Canada. Retrieved 4 March 2023.