Gibbon River
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Gibbon River flows east of the Continental Divide in
Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowst ...
, in northwestern
Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...
, the
Northwestern United States The Northwestern United States, also known as the American Northwest or simply the Northwest, is an informal geographic region of the United States. The region consistently includes the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. ...
. Along with the
Firehole River The Firehole River is located in northwestern Wyoming, and is one of the two major tributaries of the Madison River. It flows north approximately from its source in Madison Lake on the Continental Divide to join the Gibbon River at Madison Junc ...
, it is a major tributary of the
Madison River The Madison River is a headwater tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 183 miles (295 km) long, in Wyoming and Montana. Its confluence with the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers near Three Forks, Montana forms the Missouri River. Th ...
, which itself is a tributary of the Missouri River.


Description

The Gibbon River rises in the center of the park at Grebe Lake. It flows for a short distance into Wolf Lake. Below Wolf Lake, the river flows through Virginia Cascades into the Norris valley. It flows near the
Norris Geyser Basin The geothermal areas of Yellowstone include several geyser basins in Yellowstone National Park as well as other geothermal features such as hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles. The number of thermal features in Yellowstone is estimated at ...
and through the Gibbon Geyser Basin. From there it flows through the Gibbon River Canyon to its confluence with the
Firehole River The Firehole River is located in northwestern Wyoming, and is one of the two major tributaries of the Madison River. It flows north approximately from its source in Madison Lake on the Continental Divide to join the Gibbon River at Madison Junc ...
to form the
Madison River The Madison River is a headwater tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 183 miles (295 km) long, in Wyoming and Montana. Its confluence with the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers near Three Forks, Montana forms the Missouri River. Th ...
. Early maps listed the river as Gibbons Fork or the East Fork of the Madison River. The river between Norris and Madison Junction is paralleled by the Grand Loop Road. The river, along with Gibbon Falls, is named for Colonel
John Gibbon John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 – February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Early life Gibbon was born in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the four ...
, U.S. Army who participated in the 1872 Hayden Geological Survey of Yellowstone.


Angling

The Gibbon River is a popular
trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...
fishing destination. The upper section of river has very difficult access being choked with thick forests and much downed timber. The fish, consisting of brook trout, rainbow trout and grayling, are all on the small side, rarely exceeding . Below Gibbon Falls access is excellent and the river has a healthy mix of rainbow and brown trout. The lower river receives a good run of spawning browns in the fall. The Gibbon River is fly fishing only and catch and release below Gibbon Falls. Above the falls, any grayling or cutthroat trout caught must be released. An unlimited number of brook, rainbow or brown trout may be harvested daily in the waters above the falls.


Native trout restoration

In 2017 the NPS embarked on a multi-year native trout restoration project in the upper Gibbon watershed. Lakes (Grebe and Wolf) along with tributaries and the main stem of the Gibbon above Virginia Cascades have been poisoned with
Rotenone Rotenone is an odorless, colorless, crystalline isoflavone used as a broad-spectrum insecticide, piscicide, and pesticide. It occurs naturally in the seeds and stems of several plants, such as the jicama vine plant, and the roots of several mem ...
to remove non-native rainbow, brown and brook trout as well as non-native lacustrine arctic grayling from the watershed. When the removal is complete, the NPS will stock native
westslope cutthroat trout The westslope cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi''), also known as the black-spotted trout, common cutthroat trout and red-throated trout is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii'') and is a freshwater fish in t ...
and fluvial Arctic grayling in the upper Gibbon watershed to create a refuge for these species in the park. Although labeled a ''restoration'' project, neither species were indigenous to the upper Gibbon watershed.


The Gibbon Meadows wolf pack

In late 2003, the Yellowstone Wolf Project noted the formation of a group of 5
wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
, consisting of members of the Cougar Creek and Nez Perce Pack, in the Gibbon Meadows-Norris Area of the park. Their recognition as a wolf pack was attributed following the successful reproduction of the group in 2004, raising 2 pups to year end. The pack emigrated out of the national park into the
Centennial Mountains The Centennial Mountains are the southernmost sub-range of the Bitterroot Range in the U.S. states of Idaho and Montana. The Centennial Mountains include the Western and Eastern Centennial Mountains. The range extends east from Monida Pass along ...
of
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 ...
and
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...
by 2010.


See also

* Gibbon Falls * Grand Loop Road Historic District * Angling in Yellowstone National Park *
Fishes of Yellowstone National Park The fish of Yellowstone National Park, in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming (U.S.), include 13 native fish species and six introduced or non-native species. Angling for trout has been a pastime in the park since its creation and trout species dominate ...
*
Tributaries of the Missouri River A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...


References


Further reading

* * * * * * {{authority control Rivers of Wyoming Rivers of Yellowstone National Park Tributaries of the Missouri River Rivers of Teton County, Wyoming