The Sun River (also called the Medicine River) is a tributary of the Missouri River in the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

, approximately 130 mi (209 km) long, in

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 ...

in the

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 ...

. It rises in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

in two forks, the North Fork and South Fork, which join in the

Flathead National Forest The Flathead National Forest is a national forest in the western part of the U.S. state of Montana. The forest lies primarily in Flathead County, south of Glacier National Park. The forest covers of which about is designated wilderness. It i ...

above

Gibson Reservoir Gibson Reservoir is a man-made body of water located just south of the Bob Marshall Wilderness, northwest of Augusta, Montana. It forms part of the county line between Teton and Lewis & Clark counties. The reservoir is formed by the concrete a ...

along the county line between Teton and

Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

counties. It flows E, SE, and E away from the mountains, past

Simms Simms may refer to: First or middle name * Anna Simms Banks (1862–1923), American educator and politician * E. Simms Campbell (1906–1971), American cartoonist * Mary Simms Oliphant (1891–1988), American historian * Simms Taback (1932–2011 ...

, Sun River, and Vaughn and joins the Missouri at

Great Falls Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

. The water of the river is used extensively for irrigation, through the Sun River Project of the

United States Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

. The irrigation area covers approximately 92,000 acres (372 km²). The North Fork of the Sun River begins high up in the

Bob Marshall Wilderness The Bob Marshall Wilderness Area is a congressionally-designated wilderness area located in Western Montana region of the United States. It is named after Bob Marshall (1901–1939), an early forester in the federal government, conservationist, a ...

and flows generally Southward for about until it meets up with the South Fork of the Sun River. Almost immediately the two forks flow into

, impounded by Gibson Dam. From when the water leaves the reservoir until it meets the Missouri River in

, the flowage is known as the Sun River. The Sun is a Class I river from Gibson Dam to its confluence with the Missouri River for public access for recreational purposes.Stream Access in Montana

History

A sign located 3 miles south of Great Falls gives information on the history of the Sun River.

This river was called "The Medicine" by the Indians. On the return trip from the coast Capt. Lewis of the Lewis & Clark Expedition struck this river approximately 50 miles west of here. He followed it down to the Missouri passing near this point July 11, 1806. In his journal under that date he said: ''"when I arrived in sight of the white-bear Islands the missouri bottoms on both sides of the river were crowded with buffaloe I sincerely believe that there were not less than 10 thousand buffaloe within a circle of 2 miles around that place"'' The City of Great Falls covers a portion of the plain across which the Expedition made their difficult 18 mile portage around the falls of the Missouri in June 1805

Notes

External links

EPA: Sun River Watershed
{{authority control Rivers of Montana Tributaries of the Missouri River Bodies of water of Teton County, Montana Rivers of Cascade County, Montana Rivers of Lewis and Clark County, Montana

History

See also

Notes

External links