Yaak River

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.

Yaak River at Yaak, Montana
Yaak River at Upper Yaak Falls
Yaak River at Lower Yaak Falls
Yaak River
Yahk River
Location
CountryUnited States, Canada
StateMontana
ProvinceBritish Columbia
Physical characteristics
SourcePurcell Mountains
 ⁃ locationYahk Mountain
 ⁃ coordinates49°12′35″N 115°42′41″W[1]
 ⁃ elevation4,910 ft (1,500 m)[2]
MouthKootenay River
 ⁃ location
Troy, Montana
 ⁃ coordinates
48°33′40″N 115°58′37″W[1]
 ⁃ elevation
1,838 ft (560 m)[2]
Basin size766 sq mi (1,980 km2)[3]
Discharge 
 ⁃ locationmouth (near Troy, MT)[3]
 ⁃ average850 cu ft/s (24 m3/s)[3]
 ⁃ minimum49 cu ft/s (1.4 m3/s)
 ⁃ maximum11,600 cu ft/s (330 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 ⁃ leftEast Fork Yaak River, South Fork Yaak River
 ⁃ rightWest Fork Yaak River

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 tributary 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.[1]

See also

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