Kootenay River

Template:Geobox River The Kootenay River (spelled Kootenai River for its American portions) is the uppermost major tributary of the Columbia River, flowing through British Columbia, Montana and Idaho. It is one of the few rivers in North America which begins in Canada, enters the United States and then reenters Canada.

Course

The Kootenay originates in the Rocky Mountains of eastern British Columbia, and initially flows south through Kootenay National Park, merging into the Rocky Mountain Trench near Canal Flats, British Columbia (here it passes within a kilometer of Columbia Lake, the headwaters of the Columbia). It continues southwards along the Trench towards the United States border, and at Wardner, British Columbia, it widens into the Lake Koocanusa reservoir created by the Libby Dam near Libby, Montana. Koocanausa spans the Canada-U.S. border; below the dam the river resumes (using the Kootenai spelling), veers westwards out of the Rocky Mountain Trench, collects the tributary Fisher River, Yaak River, and Moyie River, crosses into Idaho, passes through Bonners Ferry, then turns northwards again. It re-enters Canada south of Creston, British Columbia, and widens into Kootenay Lake. At Nelson, British Columbia the Kootenay becomes a river again, now flowing southwest towards Castlegar, where it joins the Columbia River.

History

In the 1970s, it was proposed that the Kootenay River be diverted into the Columbia River (the two rivers are separated by a distance of no more than one mile in the Rocky Mountain Trench in southeastern British Columbia). This would allow for the generation of increased hydroelectric power. The proposal was strongly opposed by both environmentalists as well as local residents. The economy of southeastern British Columbia is strongly dependent on tourism, with the Columbia River, including Columbia Lake and Windermere Lake (British Columbia), being very popular for summer swimming and boating activities. Diversion of the glacier-fed Kootenay River would have resulted in the Columbia River becoming much deeper and colder, flooding lake-side residences and damaging tourism. As a result, this proposed river diversion was never undertaken.

See also

• Kootenai disambiguation page
• Kootenay Lake