The Bitterroot Valley is located in southwestern

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 ...

, along the

Bitterroot River The Bitterroot River is a northward flowing river running through the Bitterroot Valley, from the confluence of its West and East forks near Conner in southern Ravalli County to its confluence with the Clark Fork River near Missoula in Missou ...

between the Bitterroot Range and Sapphire Mountains, in 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. ...

Geography

The valley extends approximately from Lost Trail Pass in

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 W ...

, where it is narrow, to a point near the city of Missoula along

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, a ...

where it is wider and flatter. To the west is the Bitterroot Range and its large Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area, and to the east is the smaller Sapphire Mountains and their Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness Area. The Bitterroot Range has steep faces, deep canyons, is heavily forested, and is within the Bitterroot National Forest. The Sapphire Mountains are more rounded, drier, and much less forested. The southern end of the valley is split into the East and West Forks of the

, and the northern end has 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 the Bitterroot River 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 ...

. Connecting into the west side of the valley are numerous deeply carved granite canyons, including scenic Blodgett Canyon and Lolo Creek's canyon. The vegetation in the valley has been significantly transformed. Originally it was covered in

sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus '' Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub '' Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west. Following is an al ...

Highway 93 Route 93 or Highway 93 can refer to: International * European route E93 Australia - Victoria Canada * Alberta Highway 93 * British Columbia Highway 93 * Newfoundland and Labrador Route 93 * Ontario Highway 93 China * G93 Chengyu Ring E ...

runs through the center of the valley, exiting to the south over Lost Trail Pass. U.S. Highway 93 is the main travel choice through the Bitterroot Valley but East Side Highway also runs through the valley, being much less traveled.

Communities

Communities within the valley include: Lolo in Missoula County; and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

, Stevensville, Victor, Corvallis, Hamilton, Darby,

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 ...

, and

Sula Sula may refer to: Places Norway * Sula (island), an island in Sula municipality, Møre og Romsdal county * Sula, Møre og Romsdal, a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county * Sula, Solund, an island in Solund municipality, Vestland county * Y ...

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 ...

. Hamilton, the largest town and the county seat of Ravalli County, is located at 46°14.8'N and 114°09.6'W at an elevation of with a population of 12,000. Business opportunities within these cities include manufacturing, agriculture, craft breweries, wineries, recreational services, and many entrepreneurs.

History

The valley was the ancestral home of the Bitterroot Salish tribe of the Flathead nation. In early September 1805, the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

crossed Lost Trail Pass from present-day Idaho in order to connect with the overland route through the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

. Passing down Camp Creek and the East Fork, they followed the

northward to the point where it connects with the Nez Perce Trail and Lolo Creek. Before continuing their difficult journey to the west, they named their camp Traveler's Rest. Returning to this site in early July of the following year, they split their Corps of Discovery, furthering their explorations both to the northeast (Lewis) and to the south (Clark). In 1841, Jesuit priests led by Pierre-Jean De Smet founded St. Mary's Mission near present-day Stevensville. It was the first permanent white settlement in what is now Montana. Fort Owen was established nearby in 1850, and difficult relations occurred between the white settlers and the Salish until 1891, when the native tribes were forced to remove to the

Flathead Indian Reservation The Flathead Indian Reservation, located in western Montana on the Flathead River, is home to the Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d'Oreilles tribes – also known as the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation. T ...

. In 1877, Chief Joseph and the

Nez Perce tribe The Nez Percé (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning "we, the people") are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who are presumed to have lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest region for at least 11,500 years.Ames, ...

passed south through the Bitterroot Valley, fleeing the U.S. Army. They exited the East Fork via Gibbons Pass, near where they fought at the

Battle of the Big Hole The Battle of the Big Hole was fought in Montana Territory, August 9–10, 1877, between the United States Army and the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans during the Nez Perce War. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Nez Perce withd ...

. The Bitterroot Valley had nearly a million apple trees in the early 1900s, and was one of the world's largest producers of MacIntosh apples at that time. Irrigation was provided by about of canals. Although the Bitterroot Valley's orchards became less competitive with apple orchards in

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washingto ...

after

hail Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...

storms in 1922 and 1923, it is still home to one of the nation's largest cider orchards. Settlement has continued since that time. The population of Ravalli County in the 2000 census was 36,070; 40,212 in the 2010 census. The major industries are ranching, agriculture, forestry, and tourism.

Recreation

The Bitterroot Valley offers many recreational activities, including: hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, and rock climbing in the surrounding mountains; and birding and fishing along the Bitterroot River. The valley is popular with hunters, for big game, upland birds, and waterfowl.

In popular culture

The Bitterroot Valley is mentioned as the protagonist's birthplace in the song " Wild Montana Skies," from

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

's album '' It's About Time'' (1983). The valley is the primary shooting location of the TV series Yellowstone.

References

External links

*A virtual aerial image, looking northwest across all of the Bitterroot Range and the Bitterroot Valley, can be viewed a
this
external link.
Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce

Bitterroot Historical Society Oral History Project
(University of Montana Archives) {{Montana Valleys of Montana Landforms of Missoula County, Montana Landforms of Ravalli County, Montana