Belly River is a river in northwest

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017.Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is a tributary of the

Oldman River The Oldman River is a river in southern Alberta, Canada. It flows roughly west to east from the Rocky Mountains, through the communities of Fort Macleod, Lethbridge, and on to Grassy Lake, where it joins the Bow River to form the South Saskatche ...

, itself a tributary of the

South Saskatchewan River The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. For the first half of the 20th century, the South Saskatchewan would completely freeze over during winter, creating spectacular ...

. The name of the river may come from the

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...

word of , meaning 'stomach'. The river was previously referred to as Mokowan River. Its

Gros Ventre The Gros Ventre ( , ; meaning "big belly"), also known as the Aaniiih, A'aninin, Haaninin, Atsina, and White Clay, are a historically Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe located in north central Montana. Today the Gros Ventre people are ...

name is , also meaning 'belly river'. The river gives the name to the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

age

Belly River Formation The Belly River Group is a stratigraphical unit of Late Cretaceous age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from the Belly River, a tributary of the Oldman River in southern Alberta, and was first described in outcrop ...

, which was observed on its banks by

George Mercer Dawson George Mercer Dawson (August 1, 1849 – March 2, 1901) was a Canadian geologist and surveyor. Biography He was born in Pictou, Nova Scotia, the eldest son of Sir John William Dawson, Principal of McGill University and a noted geologis ...

in 1883.Dawson, G.M., 1883. Preliminary report on the geology of the Bow and Belly river region, Northwest Territory, with special reference to the coal deposits. Geological Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for 1880-81-82, Part B.

Course

The Belly River originates in northwestern Montana at

Helen Lake Helen Lake is located in Glacier National Park, in the U.S. state of Montana. Helen Lake is at the head of the Belly River and is situated below Ahern Peak to the west and Ipasha Peak to the northwest. Numerous small streams feed the lake in ad ...

, near the base of

Ahern Peak Ahern Peak () is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. The mountain was named after George Patrick Ahern. Ahern Peak is immediately southwest of Helen Lake and straddles the Continental Divide. Ahern Gl ...

in Glacier National Park. It flows north across the 49th parallel north into

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

near

Chief Mountain Chief Mountain ('' Blackfoot: Ninaistako'') () is located in the U.S. state of Montana on the eastern border of Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The mountain is one of the most prominent peaks and rock formations alon ...

, in the east of the

Waterton Lakes National Park Waterton Lakes National Park is a national park located in the southwest corner of Alberta, Canada. It borders Glacier National Park in Montana, United States. Waterton was the fourth Canadian national park, formed in 1895 and named after Waterto ...

. It continues north, crossed by Highway 6 and Highway 5, passes near the communities of

Hill Spring Hill Spring is a village in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located west of Cardston and southeast of Pincher Creek, in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. History Hill Spring was founded in 1910 by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

and Glenwood, then turns northeast. It is crossed by Highway 2 north of Stand Off, then continues north along the base of the Mokowan Ridge, where it receives the waters of the Waterton River. Its flow becomes

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...

ed before the river turns east around the Wild Turnip Hill, then it empties into the

west of

Coalhurst Coalhurst (originally named Bridgend) is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 3, northwest of Lethbridge. It used to be a coal-mining community. Around 1930, a large fire broke out in Coalhurst and cost the town ab ...

, south of Highway 3, at an elevation of .

Tributaries

From spring to mouth, the Belly River receives the following tributaries: * North Belly River * Mami Creek *

Dipping Vat Lake Flag dipping refers to the movement of a flag as a signal. Dipping may also refer to: * Treating sheep with a liquid formulation of insecticide and fungicide in a sheep dip * Treating livestock with pesticides by walking them through a plunge dip ...

Bullhorn Coulee A megaphone, speaking-trumpet, bullhorn, blowhorn, or loudhailer is usually a portable or hand-held, cone-shaped acoustic horn used to amplify a person's voice or other sounds and direct it in a given direction. The sound is introduced into ...

* Layton Creek * Waterton River * McNab Coulee

References

{{authority control Rivers of Alberta International rivers of North America Rivers of Glacier County, Montana

Course

Tributaries

See also

References