Middle Fork Flathead River

Middle Fork Flathead River
River
The river near Essex, Montana
Country United States
State Montana
Cities West Glacier, Montana, Essex, Montana
Source Bob Marshall Wilderness
 - coordinates 47°59′47″N 113°03′30″W / 47.99639°N 113.05833°W / 47.99639; -113.05833 [1]
Mouth Flathead River
 - elevation 3,120 ft (951 m)
 - coordinates 48°28′01″N 114°04′09″W / 48.46694°N 114.06917°W / 48.46694; -114.06917Coordinates: 48°28′01″N 114°04′09″W / 48.46694°N 114.06917°W / 48.46694; -114.06917 [1]
Length 92 mi (148 km) [2]
Basin 1,160 sq mi (3,004 km2)
Discharge for West Glacier, 3.8 miles (6.1 km) above the mouth
 - average 2,854 cu ft/s (81 m3/s)
 - max 140,000 cu ft/s (3,964 m3/s)
 - min 189 cu ft/s (5 m3/s)
Map of the Flathead River watershed showing the Middle Fork

The Middle Fork Flathead River is a 92-mile (148 km)[2] river in western Montana in the United States, forming the southwestern boundary of Glacier National Park. Its drainage basin lies to the east of the South Fork Flathead River and the Hungry Horse Reservoir. Towns along the river include West Glacier, Nyack, Pinnacle, Essex, and Nimrod.[1]

The river's headwaters lie in the Bob Marshall Wilderness at the confluence of two small streams, Strawberry Creek and Bowl Creek.[3] From there, it runs north, receiving many tributaries from glacial valleys to the east and west, most of them inside Glacier National Park. The river begins to parallel U.S. Highway 2 as it winds north-northwest, and after a long and narrow course, the river enters a wider valley and begins to spread out and braid between meadows and forested slopes. It then enters another narrow gorge, turning generally westwards, then passing the southwestern entrance of the national park, receives a tributary from Lake McDonald, a large glacial lake to the north, from the right. The river then proceeds southwest to meet the North Fork Flathead River, southwest of West Glacier and northeast of Columbia Falls, forming the main stem of the Flathead River, which eventually flows into the Clark Fork River (the Pend Oreille River).[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Middle Fork Flathead River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 4 April 1980. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  2. 1 2 Fischer, Carol (1990). Paddling Montana. Globe Pequot. pp. 61, 67–69, 72–74, 78–79. ISBN 978-1-56044-589-0.
  3. "Middle Fork of the Flathead River". U.S. Forest Service. www.fs.fed.us. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  4. 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. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.