Clearwater River (Idaho)

Clearwater River
Clearwater River
	Clearwater River near Greer Ferry
	Map showing the Clearwater River watershed
Native name	Kooskooskia (Nez Perce)
Location
Country	United States
State	Idaho
Region	Idaho County, Clearwater County, Shoshone County, Nez Perce County
Cities	Orofino, Lewiston
Physical characteristics
Source	Middle Fork Clearwater River
• location	Confluence of Selway River and Lochsa River, Idaho County
• coordinates	46°08′28″N 115°35′53″W / 46.14111°N 115.59806°W
• elevation	1,453 ft (443 m)
2nd source	South Fork Clearwater River
• location	Near Red River Hot Springs, Idaho County
• coordinates	45°52′09″N 115°18′32″W / 45.86917°N 115.30889°W
• elevation	4,285 ft (1,306 m)
Source confluence	Kooskia
• location	Idaho County
• coordinates	46°08′45″N 115°58′56″W / 46.14583°N 115.98222°W
• elevation	1,220 ft (370 m)
Mouth	Snake River
• location	Lewiston, Nez Perce County
• coordinates	46°25′30″N 117°02′14″W / 46.42500°N 117.03722°W
• elevation	741 ft (226 m)
Length	74.8 mi (120.4 km), Southeast-northwest
Basin size	9,645 sq mi (24,980 km2)
Discharge
• average	15,300 cu ft/s (430 m3/s)
• maximum	109,000 cu ft/s (3,100 m3/s)
Basin features
River system	Snake River
Tributaries
• left	South Fork Clearwater River
• right	Middle Fork Clearwater River, North Fork Clearwater River, Potlatch River

The Clearwater River is in the northwestern United States, in north central Idaho. Its length is 74.8 miles (120.4 km),^[1] it flows westward from the Bitterroot Mountains along the Idaho-Montana border, and joins the Snake River at Lewiston. In October 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition descended the Clearwater River in dugout canoes, putting in at "Canoe Camp," five miles (8 km) downstream from Orofino; they reached the Columbia Bar and the Pacific Ocean about six weeks later.

By average discharge, the Clearwater River is the largest tributary of the Snake River. The River got its name for the Niimiipuutímt naming as Koos-Koos-Kia - "clear water".^[3]

The drainage basin of the Clearwater River is 9,645 square miles (24,980 km²). Its mean annual discharge is 15,300 cubic feet per second (430 m³/s)^[4]

^ ^a ^b U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. "The National Map". Archived from the original on 2012-03-29., accessed May 3, 2011
^ "USGS Gage #13343000 on the Clearwater River near Lewiston". National Water Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
^ Rees, John E. (1918). Idaho Chronology, Nomenclature, Bibliography. W.B. Conkey Company. p. 64.
^ "Clearwater Subbasin Plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2008-09-13., Northwest Power and Conservation Council

[NHD-1] U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. "The National Map". Archived from the original on 2012-03-29., accessed May 3, 2011

[NWISpeak-2] "USGS Gage #13343000 on the Clearwater River near Lewiston". National Water Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2010-03-09.

[3] Rees, John E. (1918). Idaho Chronology, Nomenclature, Bibliography. W.B. Conkey Company. p. 64.

[nwcouncil-4] "Clearwater Subbasin Plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2008-09-13., Northwest Power and Conservation Council

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