North Fork Flathead River

Coordinates: 48°28′02″N 114°04′09″W / 48.46722°N 114.06917°W / 48.46722; -114.06917
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
North Fork Flathead River
North Fork of Flathead River, North Fork of the Flathead River
State
Montana
CityWest Glacier, Montana
Physical characteristics
SourceClark Range
 • locationBritish Columbia, Canada
 • coordinates49°19′56″N 114°51′09″W / 49.33222°N 114.85250°W / 49.33222; -114.85250[1]
MouthFlathead River
 • coordinates
48°28′02″N 114°04′09″W / 48.46722°N 114.06917°W / 48.46722; -114.06917[1]
 • elevation
3,120 ft (950 m)
Length153 mi (246 km)[2]
Basin size1,560 sq mi (4,000 km2)
Discharge 
 • locationUSGS gage #1235550, 4.1 miles (6.6 km) from the mouth
 • average2,976 cu ft/s (84.3 m3/s)
 • minimum190 cu ft/s (5.4 m3/s)
 • maximum69,100 cu ft/s (1,960 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • left
  • Canyon Creek
    • South Fork Canyon Creek, Kimmerly Creek, Depuy Creek, McGinnis Creek
DesignatedOctober 12, 1976

The North Fork Flathead River (

Clark Fork River and the Pend Oreille River. The river is sometimes considered the upper headwaters of the Flathead River,[4] although the North Fork is its official name in the U.S. Other naming conventions for the river include Flathead River - North Fork, North Fork of Flathead River, and North Fork of the Flathead River.[1]

Description

Aerial view of North Fork Flathead River (August 2013), roughly from the south. The river runs roughly from top center to bottom center. The transverse portion of the river near the middle of the image is south of Demers Ridge.

The river originates in a valley northeast of

Montana Secondary Highway 486, the river winds southwest past Kintla Lake, Bowman Lake, Quartz Lake, Logging Lake, and Lake McDonald, then turns west and south into a narrower valley before joining the Middle Fork Flathead River near the southwestern entrance of the national park, several miles northeast of Columbia Falls. Less than 6 miles (9.7 km) below this confluence, the combined river joins the South Fork Flathead River, forming the main Flathead River.[5]

Wild and Scenic River designation

Although the North Fork is designated as a

National Wild and Scenic River (1975) in the United States, its greater length in BC (31 miles (50 km), not including headwaters forks) is not. Water in the BC section remains relatively pure as there are no permanent residents or livestock in this drainage north of the border.[6]

Dam proposal

In the 1940s the Glacier View Dam was proposed, which would have flooded much of the river's valley between Glacier View Mountain and the Canada–US border. Supported by Flathead Valley interests, the dam and reservoir were opposed by the National Park Service, as between 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) and 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) of park lands would have been flooded. The proposed dam was cancelled by 1950.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "North Fork Flathead River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 4 April 1980. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-1-56044-589-0
    .
  3. ^ "FirstVoices: Nature / Environment - place names: words. Ktunaxa". Retrieved 2012-07-07.
  4. ^ "Flathead River". BC Geographical Names.
  5. ^ Woessner, William; Potts, Donald F.; Running, Steven W.; Kimball, John S.; DeLuca, Thomas H.; Fagre, Daniel B.; Makepeace, Seth; Hendrix, Marc S.; Johnnie, N. Moore; Lorang, Mark S.; Ellis, Bonnie K. (30 July 2004). "Flathead River Basin Hydrologic Observatory, Northern Rocky Mountains" (PDF). Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science. www.cuahsi.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2006. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  6. ^ "North Fork Flathead River" (PDF). American Rivers. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  7. ISBN 0-916792-01-3
    . Retrieved 4 June 2011.

External links

Media related to North Fork Flathead River at Wikimedia Commons


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