Yaak River

Yaak River at Yaak, Montana
Yaak River at Upper Yaak Falls
Yaak River at Lower Yaak Falls
Yaak River
Yahk River
Countries United States, Canada
State Montana
Province British Columbia
Tributaries
 - left East Fork Yaak River, South Fork Yaak River
 - right West Fork Yaak River
Source Purcell Mountains
 - location Yahk Mountain
 - elevation 4,910 ft (1,497 m) [1]
 - coordinates 49°12′35″N 115°42′41″W / 49.20972°N 115.71139°W / 49.20972; -115.71139 [2]
Mouth Kootenay River
 - location Troy, Montana
 - elevation 1,838 ft (560 m) [1]
 - coordinates 48°33′40″N 115°58′37″W / 48.56111°N 115.97694°W / 48.56111; -115.97694Coordinates: 48°33′40″N 115°58′37″W / 48.56111°N 115.97694°W / 48.56111; -115.97694 [2]
Basin 766 sq mi (1,984 km2) [3]
Discharge for mouth (near Troy, MT)
 - average 850 cu ft/s (24.07 m3/s) [3]
 - max 11,600 cu ft/s (328.48 m3/s)
 - min 49 cu ft/s (1.39 m3/s)

The Yaak River (spelled Yahk River in Canada) is a tributary of the Kootenay River (spelled Kootenai in the United States) in the U.S. state of Montana and the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Course

The Yaak River originates near Yahk Mountain, in the Yahk Range, part of the Purcell Mountains, in southeast British Columbia. The river flows south, crossing into Lincoln County, Montana. It receives the East Fork Yaak River, then the West Fork Yaak River (also called the West Yahk River). The West Fork originates in Montana near Rock Candy Mountain, flows northeast into British Columbia, then southeast back into Montana to join the main Yaak River.

Below the West Fork confluence, the Yaak River receives the South Fork Yaak River before curving broadly west, then south, receiving numerous tributaries creeks such as Spread Creek, Hellroaring Creek, and Burnt Creek (also called Burnt Grizzly Bear Creek), before flowing into the Kootenai River near Yaak Mountain and the small city of Troy, Montana.

In Montana, the Yaak River and its tributaries mostly lie within Kootenai National Forest.

The river has Class IV-V whitewater.[4] The river is Class III-V from Yaak Falls to its confluence with the Kootenai River for the purposes of public access for recreational purposes.[5]

History

According to British Columbia's Geographical Names Information System, "Yahk" is a Kootenay word meaning either "arrow" or "bow" and referring either to the Yaak River or the Kootenay River. The southward curve of the Kootenay River (from Canada into the United States and back into Canada) is said to be a "bow", with the Yaak River possibly being the "arrow" (if the name is from the Kootenay word "a'k").[6]

According to the USGS, variant names of the Yaak River include A'ak, Yaac, Yahk, Yahkh, and Yak.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Google Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates
  2. 1 2 3 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Yaak River, USGS, GNIS
  3. 1 2 Montana Water Resources Data, 2004, USGS
  4. ↑ http://www.americanwhitewater.org
  5. ↑ Stream Access in Montana
  6. ↑ Yahk River, BCGNIS
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