Powder River (Montana)

Coordinates: 46°44′00″N 105°26′02″W / 46.7333333°N 105.43389°W / 46.7333333; -105.43389

Powder River
River
The EDZ Irigary Bridge over the Powder River
Country	United States
States	Wyoming, Montana
Tributaries
- left	Crazy Woman Creek, Clear Creek, Mizpah Creek
- right	Wild Horse Creek, Little Powder River
Source	Confluence of Middle Fork and North Fork
- location	Near Kaycee, Wyoming
- elevation	4,564 ft (1,391 m)
- coordinates	43°40′30″N 106°30′45″W / 43.675°N 106.5125°W / 43.675; -106.5125 [1]
Mouth	Yellowstone River
- location	Near Terry, Montana
- elevation	2,241 ft (683 m)
- coordinates	46°44′00″N 105°26′02″W / 46.7333333°N 105.43389°W / 46.7333333; -105.43389 [1]
Length	375 mi (604 km)
Basin	21,875 sq mi (56,656 km2)
Discharge	for Locate, MT
- average	558 cu ft/s (16 m3/s)
- max	31,000 cu ft/s (878 m3/s)
- min	0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
Map of the Powder River basin

Powder River is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, approximately 375 miles (604 km) long in the southeastern Montana and northeastern Wyoming in the United States. It drains an area historically known as the Powder River Country on the high plains east of the Bighorn Mountains.

It rises in three forks in eastern Wyoming. The North and Middle forks rise along the eastern slope of the Bighorn Mountains. The South Fork rises on the north slope of Garfield Peak in the Granite Mountains west of Casper. The three forks meet on the foothills east of the Bighorns near the town of Kaycee. The combined stream flows northward, east of the Bighorns, and into Montana. It is joined by the Little Powder near the town of Broadus, and joins the Yellowstone approximately 50 miles (80 km) downriver from Miles City, Montana. The Powder River was so named because the sand along a portion of its banks resembled gunpowder.^[2]

The Powder River Basin near the Montana/Wyoming border is a major source of low-sulfur coal mined in the United States.

Variant names

Powder River has also been known as: Ce-than-i-ci-a, Chakadee Wakpa, Red Stone River, Redstone River, Wa ha Sah, Wah-har-sop, Wahasah, War-har-sa, and War-rak-sash.^[1]

See also

• List of rivers of Montana
• Montana Stream Access Law
• List of Wyoming rivers

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Powder River". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:789156. 
2. ^ Urbanek, Mae (1988). Wyoming Place Names. Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87842-204-8.