The Bitterroot River is a northward flowing river running through the

Bitterroot Valley The Bitterroot Valley is located in southwestern Montana, along the Bitterroot River between the Bitterroot Range and Sapphire Mountains, in the Northwestern United States. Geography The valley extends approximately from Lost Trail Pass in Ida ...

, from the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of its West and East forks near Conner in southern Ravalli County to its confluence with the Clark Fork River near Missoula in Missoula County, in western

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 Columb ...

. The Clark Fork River is tributary to the

Columbia River The Columbia River ( Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia ...

and ultimately, the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

. The Bitterroot River is a Blue Ribbon trout fishery with a healthy population of native westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout. It is the third most fly fished river in Montana behind the

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

and

Big Horn River The Bighorn River is a tributary of the Yellowstone, approximately long, in the states of Wyoming and Montana in the western United States. The river was named in 1805 by fur trader François Larocque for the bighorn sheep he saw along its ba ...

History

The Bitterroot River is named for the bitterroot plant ''Lewisia rediviva'', whose fleshy taproot was an important food source for Native Americans. The Salish called the river Spet-lum for "Place of the bitterroot" and In-shi-ttogh-tae-tkhu for "Willow River". French trappers knew the plant as racine amère (bitter root). The early Jesuit priest, Father De Smet, named it St. Mary's River. By the time of Washington Territory surveys by Governor Isaac I. Stevens in 1853, the name had been translated to Bitterroot River.

Watershed

The Bitterroot River watershed drains in Ravalli and Missoula counties. The Bitterroot Valley averages 7–10 miles wide and is uniquely low gradient for western Montana streams. The river mainstem begins at the confluence of the

East Fork Bitterroot River East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and the

West Fork Bitterroot River West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

. From there the mainstem receives numerous tributaries from the Bitterroot Mountains to the west and the

Sapphire Mountains The Sapphire Mountains are a range of mountains located in southwestern Montana in the northwestern United States. From a point near the Clark Fork River and the city of Missoula, they run in a southerly direction for a distance of approximately ...

to the east. The watershed is a snowmelt dominated system with large interannual variations in streamflow and peak flows from mid-May to mid-June. The variation is compounded by extensive irrigation withdrawals and upstream reservoir storage at Painted Rocks Reservoir on the West Fork Bitterroot River with the most severely dewatered reaches along of the river located between Woodside Crossing near Corvallis and Bell Crossing near Stevensville. Major tributaries include Skalkaho Creek, and Lolo Creek. The Skalkaho Creek drainage subwatershed originates in the Sapphire Mountains and drains and flows west-northwest to it confluence with the Bitterroot River. Lolo Creek is the primary tributary in the northern portion of the Bitterroot watershed. Lolo Creek is often completely dewatered in late summer in its lower due to withdrawals for irrigation and rural water use.

Habitat and wildlife

Although the Bitterroot River passes close by to many residential areas, it is an excellent place for wildlife viewing. Many species of

ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

and

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which ...

are common along with

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

, bald eagles and

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychu ...

. Elk (''Cervus canadensis''),

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

(''Alces alces''), and both white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus'') and mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') frequent the river as a source of water and to graze near its banks. The most notable wildlife viewing locale along the river is the famous

Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) along the Bitterroot River in southwestern Montana, U.S. Established in 1964 as Ravalli NWR, it was renamed in 1978 in honor of the late Senator Lee Metcalf, a native of Mont ...

, named for U.S. Senator Lee Metcalf, a pioneer of the conservation movement. A renowned fly fishing stream, the Bitterroot River mainstem and many of its tributaries are important migratory corridors and spawning habitat for native westslope cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi'') and bull trout (''Salvelinus confluentus''). Other native fish include mountain whitefish (''Prosopium williamsoni''), longnose sucker (''Catostomus catostomus''), slimy sculpin (''Cottus cognatus''), and longnose dace (''Rhinichthys cataractae'').

Rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coast ...

(''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') and

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morp ...

(''Salmo trutta'') are popular gamefish but are not native to the Bitterroot River watershed and pose significant threats to native trout. In Montana, rainbow trout are only native to the upper

Kootenai River The Kootenay or Kootenai river is a major river in the Northwest Plateau, in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and northern Montana and Idaho in the United States. It is one of the uppermost major tributaries of the Columbia River, the l ...

in the state's extreme northwest corner. Non-native rainbow trout pose one of the greatest threats to cutthroat trout by hybridization, producing "cutbows". In addition, non-native

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...

(''Salvelinus fontinalis'') often displace native cutthroat trout and bull trout in small streams.

Recreation

The towns along the Bitterroot River, including

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

, Stevensville, Missoula, and Darby are popular destinations for fly fishing, with

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coast ...

being fairly prevalent and with smaller populations of

and westslope cutthroat trout. The Bitterroot is a class I river from the confluence of the East and West forks to its confluence with the Clark Fork River for public access for recreational purposes.Stream Access in Montana
, Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Gallery

References

External links

Explore the Bitterroot
*
Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge Website
{{authority control Rivers of Montana Bodies of water of Missoula County, Montana Bodies of water of Ravalli County, Montana Missoula, Montana