COURSING THROUGH MILES OF MONTANA
CLARK FORK CORRIDOR: THE RIVER
More than 240 miles (456 km) east of here, Silver Bow Creek tumbles west from the Continental Divide above Butte, Montana. Thus begins the Clark Fork River, which drains more than 22,000 square miles of western Montana before it flows into Idaho. Shortly before leaving Montana, its average discharge is greater than any other of Montana's rivers. Eventually these waters join the mighty Columbia River that drains much of the Pacific Northwest.
The Clark Fork is harnessed to generate electricity by four dams located at Milltown, Thompson Falls, Noxon Rapids and Cabinet Gorge.
HOW DOES IT LOOK?
The Salish people had different names for different places along this river to reflect its changing character and terrain. Do you think "Shining Waters" fits this stretch?
WHERE DOES IT GO?
Trappers and fur traders referred to this waterway as the Missoula River because they floated it from that upriver city to the trading post at Thompson Falls.
WHO'S BEEN HERE BEFORE?
Today the official name of the river is the Clark's Fork of the Columbia, but it is usually called the Clark Fork. It is named for William Clark, who explored the western United States in 1805 and 1806 with Meriwether Lewis.
From the marker