Kootenay River
Kootenai River
Countries	Canada, United States
States	Montana, Idaho
Province	British Columbia
Major cities	Bonners Ferry, ID, Creston, BC, Nelson, BC, Castlegar, BC
Length	485 mi (781 km) [1]
Watershed	16,180 sq mi (41,906 km²) [1]
Discharge at	mouth
- average	30,650 cu ft/s (868 m³/s) [1]
Source	Rocky Mountains
- location	Kootenay National Park, British Columbia
Mouth	Columbia River
- location	Castlegar, British Columbia
Major tributaries
- left	Palliser River, White River, Bull River, Elk River, Fisher River
- right	St Mary River, Yaak River, Moyie River, Goat River, Duncan River, Slocan River
Location map of Kootenay River. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Montana ( is a state in the Western United States. One-third of the state in the western part contains numerous mountain ranges (approximately 77 named of the northern The State of Idaho ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. British Columbia (ˌbrɪtɨʃ kəˈlʌmbiə ( BC) ( (la Colombie-Britannique C Bonners Ferry is a city in Boundary County, Idaho, United States. Creston is a town of 4826 people in the Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada. This page is about the city of Nelson British Columbia For the provincial electoral districts Nelson (electoral district, Nelson City, Nelson-Creston A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The cubic foot is an imperial and US customary (non- metric) unit of Volume, used in the United States Canada and the United Kingdom The second ( SI symbol s) sometimes abbreviated sec, is the name of a unit of Time, and is the International System of Units CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. The second ( SI symbol s) sometimes abbreviated sec, is the name of a unit of Time, and is the International System of Units Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a Mountain range in western North America. Kootenay National Park is located in southeastern British Columbia Canada covering 1406 km² (543 mi² in the Canadian Rockies and forms part of British Columbia (ˌbrɪtɨʃ kəˈlʌmbiə ( BC) ( (la Colombie-Britannique C The Columbia River (known as British Columbia (ˌbrɪtɨʃ kəˈlʌmbiə ( BC) ( (la Colombie-Britannique C The Elk River is a long River, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Fisher River is a Tributary of the Kootenay River (spelled Kootenai in the United States in the U The Yaak River (spelled Yahk River in Canada is a Tributary of the Kootenay River (spelled Kootenai in the United States in the U The Moyie River is a Tributary of the Kootenai River (spelled Kootenay River in Canada in the U The Duncan River is a long River in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Columbia River shown in orange; lakes and reservoirs not shown.
Map of the Kootenay River, its main tributaries and lakes, and select cities.

The Kootenay River (spelled Kootenai River for its American portions) is the uppermost major tributary of the Columbia River, flowing through British Columbia, Montana and Idaho. The Columbia River (known as British Columbia (ˌbrɪtɨʃ kəˈlʌmbiə ( BC) ( (la Colombie-Britannique C Montana ( is a state in the Western United States. One-third of the state in the western part contains numerous mountain ranges (approximately 77 named of the northern The State of Idaho ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. It is one of the few rivers in North America which begins in Canada, enters the United States and then reenters Canada.

Course

The Kootenay originates in the Rocky Mountains of eastern British Columbia, and initially flows south through Kootenay National Park, merging into the Rocky Mountain Trench near Canal Flats, British Columbia (here it passes within a kilometer of Columbia Lake, the headwaters of the Columbia). Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a Mountain range in western North America. Kootenay National Park is located in southeastern British Columbia Canada covering 1406 km² (543 mi² in the Canadian Rockies and forms part of The Rocky Mountain Trench, also called "the valley of a thousand peaks" is a physiographic feature extending ~1600 km (995 mi from Flathead Lake, Montana Canal Flats is a village located at the southern end of Columbia Lake, the source of the Columbia River in British Columbia, Canada. Columbia Lake is a Lake at the headwaters of the Columbia River, in British Columbia, Canada. It continues southwards along the Trench towards the United States border, and at Wardner, British Columbia, it widens into the Lake Koocanusa reservoir created by the Libby Dam near Libby, Montana. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Lake Koocanusa is a Reservoir in British Columbia ( Canada) and Montana ( United States) formed by the Damming of the A reservoir is most broadly a place or hollow vessel where Fluid is kept in Reserve, for later use Libby Dam is a Dam on the Kootenai River in the US state of Montana. Libby is a city in and the County seat of Lincoln County, Montana, United States. Koocanausa spans the Canada-U. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page S. border; below the dam the river resumes (using the Kootenai spelling), veers westwards out of the Rocky Mountain Trench, collects the tributary Fisher River, Yaak River, and Moyie River, crosses into Idaho, passes through Bonners Ferry, then turns northwards again. The Fisher River is a Tributary of the Kootenay River (spelled Kootenai in the United States in the U The Yaak River (spelled Yahk River in Canada is a Tributary of the Kootenay River (spelled Kootenai in the United States in the U The Moyie River is a Tributary of the Kootenai River (spelled Kootenay River in Canada in the U Bonners Ferry is a city in Boundary County, Idaho, United States. It re-enters Canada south of Creston, British Columbia, and widens into Kootenay Lake. Creston is a town of 4826 people in the Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada. Kootenay Lake is a Canadian Lake located between the Selkirk and Purcell Mountain ranges in the Kootenay region of At Nelson, British Columbia the Kootenay becomes a river again, now flowing southwest towards Castlegar, where it joins the Columbia River. This page is about the city of Nelson British Columbia For the provincial electoral districts Nelson (electoral district, Nelson City, Nelson-Creston The Columbia River (known as

History

In the 1970s, it was proposed that the Kootenay River be diverted into the Columbia River (the two rivers are separated by a distance of no more than one mile in the Rocky Mountain Trench in southeastern British Columbia). This would allow for the generation of increased hydroelectric power. The proposal was strongly opposed by both environmentalists as well as local residents. The economy of southeastern British Columbia is strongly dependent on tourism, with the Columbia River, including Columbia Lake and Windermere Lake (British Columbia), being very popular for summer swimming and boating activities. Lake Windermere is a very large widening in the Columbia River. Diversion of the glacier-fed Kootenay River would have resulted in the Columbia River becoming much deeper and colder, flooding lake-side residences and damaging tourism. As a result, this proposed river diversion was never undertaken.

See also

• Kootenai disambiguation page
• Kootenay Lake

References