Pend Oreille River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pend Oreille River | |
|---|---|
| Pend d'Oreille River | |
| Countries | United States, Canada |
| States | Washington, Idaho |
| Province | British Columbia |
| Major city | Sandpoint, ID |
| Length | 130 mi (209 km) [1] |
| Watershed | 24,200 sq mi (62,678 km²) [2] |
| Discharge at | Canada–United States border |
| - average | 26,430 cu ft/s (748 m³/s) [3] |
| - maximum | 171,300 cu ft/s (4,851 m³/s) |
| - minimum | 0 cu ft/s (0 m³/s) |
| Source | Lake Pend Oreille |
| - coordinates | [4] |
| - elevation | 2,064 ft (629 m) [5] |
| Mouth | Columbia River |
| - coordinates | [6] |
| - elevation | 1,371 ft (418 m) [7] |
| Major tributaries | |
| - right | Clark Fork, Pack River, Priest River |
 Map of the Pend Oreille River and its main tributaries.
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The Pend Oreille River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 130 mi (209 km) long, in northern Idaho and northeastern Washington in the United States, as well as southeastern British Columbia in Canada. In its passage through British Columbia its name is spelled Pend d'Oreille River. It drains a scenic area of the Rocky Mountains along the U.S.-Canada border on the east side of the Columbia. The river is sometimes defined as the lower part of the Clark Fork, which rises in western Montana. The river drains an area of approximately 25,820 sq mi (66,874 km²), mostly through the Clark Fork and its tributaries in western Montana.
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[edit] Course
The Pend Oreille River begins at Lake Pend Oreille in Bonner County, Idaho in the Idaho Panhandle, draining the lake from its western end near Sandpoint (The Clark Fork River enters the lake from is eastern end). It flows west, receiving the Priest River from the north at the town of Priest River, then flows into southern Pend Oreille County in northeastern Washington at Newport. Once in Washington it turns north, flowing along the eastern side of the Selkirk Mountains. It flows roughly parallel to the Idaho border for approximately 50 mi (80 km), through the Colville National Forest, past Tiger and Metaline Falls. It crosses the international border into southeastern British Columbia, looping west for about 15 miles (24 km) and joining the Columbia from the east, approximately 2 mi (3 km) north of the international border and approximately 5 miles (8 km) south of Montrose.
[edit] Dams
There are five dams on the Pend Oreille River: Waneta (owned by Teck Cominco) and Seven Mile (B.C. Hydro) dams in Canada, Boundary (Seattle City Light), Box Canyon (Pend Oreille County PUD), and Albeni Falls (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) dams in the United States. None provide for fish passage.
[edit] Names
Variant names, according to the USGS, include: Bitter Root River, Bitterroot River, Clark Fork, Clarke Fork, Clarkes Fork, Clarks Fork, Deer Lodge River, Hell Gate River, Missoula River, Pend d'Oreille River, Silver Bow River, Clark's Fork, and Pend-d'Oreille River.
[edit] References
- ^ Pend Oreille River, The Columbia Gazetteer of North America. 2000.
- ^ Pend Oreille Drainage, Idaho State University
- ^ Water Data Report WA-05-1, chapter Pend Oreille, Kettle, and Colville River Basins, and the Columbia River from the International Boundary to the confluence with the Spokane River
- ^ USGS GNIS: Pend Oreille River, USGS GNIS.
- ^ Google Earth elevation for GNIS source coordinates.
- ^ Google Earth coordinates for mouth of Pend Oreille River.
- ^ Google Earth elevation for mouth of Pend Oreille River.
