Clearwater River (Idaho)

Clearwater River
Clearwater River near Greer Ferry
Map showing the Clearwater River watershed
Native nameKooskooskia (Nez Perce)
Location
CountryUnited States
StateIdaho
RegionIdaho County, Clearwater County, Shoshone County, Nez Perce County
CitiesOrofino, Lewiston
Physical characteristics
SourceMiddle Fork Clearwater River
 • locationConfluence of Selway River and Lochsa River, Idaho County
 • coordinates46°08′28″N 115°35′53″W / 46.14111°N 115.59806°W / 46.14111; -115.59806
 • elevation1,453 ft (443 m)
2nd sourceSouth Fork Clearwater River
 • locationNear Red River Hot Springs, Idaho County
 • coordinates45°52′09″N 115°18′32″W / 45.86917°N 115.30889°W / 45.86917; -115.30889
 • elevation4,285 ft (1,306 m)
Source confluenceKooskia
 • locationIdaho County
 • coordinates46°08′45″N 115°58′56″W / 46.14583°N 115.98222°W / 46.14583; -115.98222
 • elevation1,220 ft (370 m)
MouthSnake River
 • location
Lewiston, Nez Perce County
 • coordinates
46°25′30″N 117°02′14″W / 46.42500°N 117.03722°W / 46.42500; -117.03722
 • elevation
741 ft (226 m)
Length74.8 mi (120.4 km), Southeast-northwest[1]
Basin size9,645 sq mi (24,980 km2)
Discharge 
 • average15,300 cu ft/s (430 m3/s)
 • maximum109,000 cu ft/s (3,100 m3/s)[2]
Basin features
River systemSnake River
Tributaries 
 • leftSouth Fork Clearwater River
 • rightMiddle Fork Clearwater River, North Fork Clearwater River, Potlatch River

The Clearwater River is in the northwestern United States, in north central Idaho. Its length is 74.8 miles (120.4 km),[1] it flows westward from the Bitterroot Mountains along the Idaho-Montana border, and joins the Snake River at Lewiston. In October 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition descended the Clearwater River in dugout canoes, putting in at "Canoe Camp," five miles (8 km) downstream from Orofino; they reached the Columbia Bar and the Pacific Ocean about six weeks later.

By average discharge, the Clearwater River is the largest tributary of the Snake River. The River got its name for the Niimiipuutímt naming as Koos-Koos-Kia - "clear water".[3]

The drainage basin of the Clearwater River is 9,645 square miles (24,980 km2). Its mean annual discharge is 15,300 cubic feet per second (430 m3/s)[4]

  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. "The National Map". Archived from the original on 2012-03-29., accessed May 3, 2011
  2. ^ "USGS Gage #13343000 on the Clearwater River near Lewiston". National Water Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
  3. ^ Rees, John E. (1918). Idaho Chronology, Nomenclature, Bibliography. W.B. Conkey Company. p. 64.
  4. ^ "Clearwater Subbasin Plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2008-09-13., Northwest Power and Conservation Council

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