Kootenay River

The Kootenay River or Kootenai River is a major river of the Northwest Plateau in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and northern Montana and Idaho in the United States. It is one of the uppermost major tributaries of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Kootenay River runs from its headwaters in the Kootenay Ranges of the Canadian Rockies, flowing from British Columbia's East Kootenay region into northwestern Montana, then west into the northernmost Idaho Panhandle and returning to British Columbia in the West Kootenay region, where it joins the Columbia at Castlegar. The river is known as the "Kootenay" in Canada and by the Ktunaxa Nation, and as the "Kootenai" in the United States and by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and Kootenai Tribe of Idaho. Fed mainly by glaciers and snowmelt, the river drains a rugged, sparsely populated region of more than ; over 70 percent of the basin is in Canada. From its highest headwaters to its confluence with the Columbia River, the Kootenay falls more than in elevation. Above its confluence with the Columbia, the Kootenay is comparable in length, drainage area, and volume but has a steeper gradient and is characterized by larger falls and rapids. Part of the lower Kootenay forms Kootenay Lake, one of the largest natural lakes in British Columbia. The Ktunaxa (Kootenai) were the first people to live along the Kootenay River. For hundreds of years, they hunted and fished on the river, quite isolated from neighboring indigenous groups. In the 19th century, the Canadian explorer David Thompson became the first recorded European to reach the Kootenay and established trading posts throughout the region. A gold rush on the Kootenay and later silver and galena strikes in its western basins in the late 19th century drew thousands of miners and settlers to the region, who soon were followed by the arrival of railroads and steamboats.

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Related concepts (5)

Kutenai

The Kutenai (ˈkuːtəneɪ,_-niː ), also known as the Ktunaxa (tʌˈnɑːhɑː ; ktunʌ́χɑ̝), Ksanka (kəˈsɑːnkɑː ), Kootenay (in Canada) and Kootenai (in the United States), are an indigenous people of Canada and the United States. Kutenai bands live in southeastern British Columbia, northern Idaho, and western Montana. The Kutenai language is a language isolate, thus unrelated to the languages of neighboring peoples or any other known language. Four bands form the Ktunaxa Nation in British Columbia.

Kootenay Lake

Kootenay Lake is a lake located in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Kootenay River. The lake has been raised by the Corra Linn Dam and has a dike system at the southern end, which, along with industry in the 1950s–70s, has changed the ecosystem in and around the water. The Kootenay Lake ferry is a year-round toll-free ferry that crosses between Kootenay Bay and Balfour. The lake is a popular summer tourist destination. Kootenay Lake is a long, narrow and deep fjord-like lake located between the Selkirk and Purcell mountain ranges in the Kootenay region of British Columbia.

Kootenay River