Middle Fork Flathead River

Coordinates: 48°28′01″N 114°04′09″W / 48.46694°N 114.06917°W / 48.46694; -114.06917

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; -114.06917 [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

• List of rivers of Montana

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Middle Fork Flathead River". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. 4 April 1980. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:787275. Retrieved 2009-08-29. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Fischer, Carol (1990). Paddling Montana. Globe Pequot. pp. 61, 67–69, 72–74, 78–79. ISBN 9781560445890. http://books.google.com/books?id=vJG00JgVtwIC&d. 
3. ^ "Middle Fork of the Flathead River". U.S. Forest Service. www.fs.fed.us. http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/flathead/fishing_site/fishing/rivers/mf_flathead_river.htm. 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. et al. (30 July 2004). "Flathead River Basin Hydrologic Observatory, Northern Rocky Mountains". Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science. www.cuahsi.org. http://www.cuahsi.org/Prospectuses/HO%20final%20flathhead%20Basin%20Woessner.pdf. Retrieved 2009-08-29.