The Bitterroot River is a northward flowing river running through the Bitterroot Valley, from the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river ( main stem); ...

of its West and East forks near

Conner Conner or Conners may refer to: Fictional characters * Ratonhnaké꞉ton, Conner, the protagonist of ''Assassin's Creed III'' * Conner (Titans character), Conner (''Titans'' character) Media * ''The Conners'', an American TV series, spin-off ...

in southern

Ravalli County Ravalli County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,174. Its county seat is Hamilton. Ravalli County is part of a north–south mountain valley bordered by the Sapp ...

to its confluence with the

Clark Fork River The Clark Fork, or the Clark Fork of the Columbia River, is a river in the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho, approximately long. The largest river by volume in Montana, it drains an extensive region of the Rocky Mountains in western Montana and ...

near Missoula in Missoula County, in western

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

. The Clark Fork River is tributary to the Columbia River and ultimately, the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. The Bitterroot River is a Blue Ribbon trout fishery with a healthy population of native westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout. It is the third most fly fished river in Montana behind the Madison and

Big Horn River The Bighorn River is a tributary of the Yellowstone, approximately long, in the states of Wyoming and Montana in the western United States. The river was named in 1805 by fur trader François Larocque for the bighorn sheep he saw along its ban ...

History

The Bitterroot River is named for the bitterroot plant ''Lewisia rediviva'', whose fleshy taproot was an important food source for Native Americans. The Salish called the river Spet-lum for "Place of the bitterroot" and In-shi-ttogh-tae-tkhu for "Willow River". French trappers knew the plant as racine amère (bitter root). The early Jesuit priest,

Father De Smet Pierre-Jean De Smet, SJ ( ; 30 January 1801 – 23 May 1873), also known as Pieter-Jan De Smet, was a Flemish Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). He is known primarily for his widespread missionary work in the mid-19th ...

, named it St. Mary's River. By the time of

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from th ...

surveys by Governor Isaac I. Stevens in 1853, the name had been translated to Bitterroot River.

Watershed

The Bitterroot River watershed drains in Ravalli and Missoula counties. The Bitterroot Valley averages 7–10 miles wide and is uniquely low gradient for western Montana streams. The river mainstem begins at the confluence of the East Fork Bitterroot River and the West Fork Bitterroot River. From there the mainstem receives numerous tributaries from the Bitterroot Mountains to the west and the Sapphire Mountains to the east. The watershed is a snowmelt dominated system with large interannual variations in streamflow and peak flows from mid-May to mid-June. The variation is compounded by extensive irrigation withdrawals and upstream reservoir storage at Painted Rocks Reservoir on the West Fork Bitterroot River with the most severely dewatered reaches along of the river located between Woodside Crossing near Corvallis and Bell Crossing near Stevensville. Major tributaries include Skalkaho Creek, and Lolo Creek. The Skalkaho Creek drainage subwatershed originates in the Sapphire Mountains and drains and flows west-northwest to it confluence with the Bitterroot River. Lolo Creek is the primary tributary in the northern portion of the Bitterroot watershed. Lolo Creek is often completely dewatered in late summer in its lower due to withdrawals for irrigation and rural water use.

Habitat and wildlife

Although the Bitterroot River passes close by to many residential areas, it is an excellent place for wildlife viewing. Many species of ducks and waterfowl are common along with

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

, bald eagles and

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychu ...

. Elk (''Cervus canadensis''),

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

(''Alces alces''), and both

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

(''Odocoileus virginianus'') and

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

(''Odocoileus hemionus'') frequent the river as a source of water and to graze near its banks. The most notable wildlife viewing locale along the river is the famous Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge, named for U.S. Senator Lee Metcalf, a pioneer of the conservation movement. A renowned fly fishing stream, the Bitterroot River mainstem and many of its tributaries are important migratory corridors and spawning habitat for native westslope cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi'') and bull trout (''Salvelinus confluentus''). Other native fish include mountain whitefish (''Prosopium williamsoni''), longnose sucker (''Catostomus catostomus''), slimy sculpin (''Cottus cognatus''), and longnose dace (''Rhinichthys cataractae''). Rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') and brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') are popular gamefish but are not native to the Bitterroot River watershed and pose significant threats to native trout. In Montana, rainbow trout are only native to the upper Kootenai River in the state's extreme northwest corner. Non-native rainbow trout pose one of the greatest threats to cutthroat trout by hybridization, producing "cutbows". In addition, non-native brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') often displace native cutthroat trout and bull trout in small streams.

Recreation

The towns along the Bitterroot River, including Hamilton, Stevensville, Missoula, and Darby are popular destinations for fly fishing, with rainbow trout being fairly prevalent and with smaller populations of brown trout and westslope cutthroat trout. The Bitterroot is a class I river from the confluence of the East and West forks to its confluence with the Clark Fork River for public access for recreational purposes.Stream Access in Montana
, Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Gallery

References

External links

Explore the Bitterroot
*
Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge Website
{{authority control Rivers of Montana Bodies of water of Missoula County, Montana Bodies of water of Ravalli County, Montana Missoula, Montana