Flathead River

General data

Name: Flathead River
Water system: Columbia River
Water type: River
Progression: Clark Fork River -> Lake Pend Oreille -> Pend Oreille River -> Columbia River -> Columbia River Estuary -> Pacific Ocean -> Planet Earth
Climates: Temperate
Continents: North America
Countries: United States of America, Canada

Description

The Flathead River, in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Montana, originates in the Canadian Rockies to the north of Glacier National Park and flows southwest into Flathead Lake, then after a journey of 158 miles (254 km), empties into the Clark Fork. The river is part of the Columbia River drainage basin, as the Clark Fork is a tributary of the Pend Oreille River, a Columbia River tributary. With a drainage basin extending over 8,795 square miles (22,780 km2) and an average discharge of 11,380 cubic feet per second (322 m3/s), the Flathead is the largest tributary of the Clark Fork and constitutes over half of its flow.

Rivers

Middle Fork Flathead River

North Fork Flathead River

South Fork Flathead River

Stillwater River (Flathead County, Montana)

Artificial lakes

Flathead Lake

Salmoniformes - Salmons and Trouts

Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)

Most popular catches