GB 1227 C46 M3 ICopy 1 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR Water-Supply Paper 346 PROFILE SURVEYS IN THE BASIN OF CLARK FORK OF COLUMBIA RIVER MONTANA-IDAHO-WASHINGTON PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF R. B. MARSHALL, CHIEF GEOGRAPHER Monograph (1 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1914 Rnnk dO* M \ i Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/profilesurveysin08mars DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SUKVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH, Director Water- Supply Paper 346 PROFILE SURVEYS IN THE BASIN OF CLARK FORK OF COLUMBIA RIVER MONTANA-IDAHO-WASHINGTON PREPARED TINDER THE DIRECTION OP R. B. MARSHALL, CHIEF GEOGRAPHER WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1914 CONTENTS. Page, General features of the Clark Fork basin 3 Gaging stations 4 Publications 6 ILLUSTRATIONS. Plate I. A-J, Plan and profile of Clark Fork from Deer Lodge to St. Regis, Mont At end of volume. II. A-H, Plan and profile of Clark Fork from St. Regis, Mont., to Pend Oreille Lake, Idaho At end of volume. III. A-E, Plan and profile of Clark Fork from international bound- ary, Washington, to Priest River, Idaho At end of volume. 2 D. CF D, CCT 3 1314 PROFILE SURVEYS IN THE BASIN OF CLARK FORK OF COLUMBIA RIVER, MONTANA-IDAHO-WASHINGTON. Prepared under the direction of R. B. Marshall, Chief Geographer. GENERAL FEATURES OF THE CLARK FORK BASIN. Clark Fork of Columbia River rises in the Silver Bow Mountains, Mont., about 18 miles southwest of Butte. For about 40 miles it flows northward, but near Garrison, Powell County, it turns to the northwest and maintains this general course through a distance of" about 125 miles until it reaches St. Regis, in Missoula County, where it turns abruptly to the northeast. At Paradise, in Sanders County, it resumes its northwesterly course, passing between the Cceur d'Alene and Cabinet ranges, crossing the " panhandle " of Idaho in Bonner County, flowing through Lake Pend Oreille, and entering Washing- ton at Newport, in Stevens County. From Usk to the international boundary line its course is northward, and just beyond the boundary it turns directly west to its junction with the Columbia just inside Canadian territory. From source to mouth its length, exclusive of windings, is, roughly, 420 miles, and its drainage area measures 25,800 square miles. To the river thus described various names have been applied in the past 1 and may still be used locally. The Land Office maps of Montana, Idaho, and Washington show more than 150 streams tributary to Clark Fork, but by far the greater number of these are very short, and scarcely a dozen can be called rivers. The most important are listed in the table following : Principal tributaries of Clark Fork of Columbia River From the south and west. Flint Creek. Rock Creek. Bitterroot River. From the north and east. Little Blackfoot River. Big Blackfoot River. Flathead River. Thompson River. Vermilion Creek. Priest River. Salmon River (British Columbia). Altitudes within the basin range from 1,346 feet above sea level at Boundary to more than 8,000 feet above at the summits of some 1 " ClarV Fork; river in Idaho, Montana, and Washington. (Not Bitter Root, Bitterroot, Clarke, Clarks River, Deer Lodge, Deerlodge, Hell Gate, Hellgate, Missoula, Silver Bow, nor Silverbow.)" — Third Report U. S. Board Geog. Names, 1907, p. 51. Bitterroot in this decision refers to a portion of the main stream so called, and not to the tributary known as Bitterroot River. 46600°— wsp 346—14 3 4 PROFILE SURVEYS IN BASIN OF CLAEK FORK. of the peaks of the Mission Range. Clark Fork has many rapids and falls, and in places the rocky gorge is narrow enough to be spanned by foot logs. The stream falls nearly 500 feet in the last 40 miles of its course. A great deal of snow lies in the mountains from November to June, and many of the streams are frozen over during the winter months. Throughout the greater part of the year, however, the streams are open. Irrigation in the Bitterroot Valley has been developed extensively. The United States Reclamation Service is irrigating the Flathead Indian Reservation by diverting water from the smaller streams. A project to dam Flathead River and develop power for pumping water from the lake is now under way. One hundred thousand acres will be irrigated on the Flathead. Reservoir sites available for storage are numerous. The Mission Range has several that will be used by the Reclamation Service, and good storage-reservoir sites are also to be found on the Bitterroot and upper Little Bitterroot. The drainage basin contains many valuable power streams. On a few streams power plants have already been installed and more are under construction. The lower 20 miles of the main river offers some exceptional opportunities for power developments in large units. GAGING STATIONS. In order to show the possibilities for development of Clark Fork the Geological Survey has maintained gaging stations at points on the main stream and its tributaries, as shown in the following list, and surveys have been made which show the fall in the stream and conditions along the bank between Deer Lodge, Mont., and the inter- national boundary. The results of these surveys are shown on the 22 sheets forming Plates I to III. Gaging stations in Clark Fork basin. [Note. — Dash following date indicates that station was being maintained Jan. 1, 1914.] Clark Fork at Missoula, Mont., 189S-1907. Clark Fork near St. Regis, Mont., 1910- Clark Fork near Plains, Mont., 1910- Clark Fork at Priest River, Idaho, 1903-1905. Clark Fork at Newport, Wash., 1904- Clark Fork at Metaline, Wash., 190S- Racetrack Creek near Anaconda, Mont., 1911- Little Blackfoot River and ditch near Elliston, Mont., 1910- Rock Creek near Como, Mont., 1910. Rock Creek near Quigley, Mont., 1910- Big Blackfoot River at Bonner, Mont., 1S98-1905. Rattlesnake Creek at Missoula, Mont., 1S99-1900. GAGING STATIONS. 5 Clark Fork — Continued. Bitterroot River, West Fork, near Darby, Mont., 1910- Bitterroot River near Como, Mont, 1S98-1S99. Bitterroot River near Grantsdale, Mont., 1902-1907. Bitterroot River near Missoula, Mont, 18S9-1901; 1903-4. Bitterroot River, East Fork, near Darby, Mont., 1910- Lolo Creek near Lolo, Mont., 1910- St. Regis River near St. Regis, Mont., 1910- Flatbead River, North Fork (bead of Flathead River), near Columbia Falls, 1910- Flathead River at Deinersville, near Kalispell, Mont., 1909-1912. Flathead River at Damon's ranch, near Kalispell, Mont., 1909-1912. Flathead River at Holt, Mont, 1909-1912. Flathead Lake (on Flathead River) at Holt, Mont., 1900. Flathead Lake at Poison, Mont., 1900-1901; 1908- Flathead River near Poison, Mont., 1907- Flathead River, Middle Fork, at Belton, Mont., 1910- Lake McDonald outlet at Lake McDonald, Mont., 1912- Flathead River, South Fork, near Columbia Falls, Mont., 1910- Swan River near Big Fork, Mont., 1910-11. Stillwater River near Kalispell, Mont., 1906-7. Whitefisk River near Kalispell, Mont., 1908. Little Bitterroot Creek near Marion, Mont, 1910- Little Bitterroot Creek near Hubbart, Mont, 1909- Little Bitterroot Creek near Dayton, Mont., 1908-1910. Crow Creek near Ronan, Mont., 1906- Crow Creek at Lozeau's ranch, near Ronan, Mont., 1911- Mud Creek near Ronan, Mont., 190S-1910. Mission Creek near St. Ignatius, Mont, 1906- Dry Creek near St. Ignatius, Mont., 1908- Post Creek near St. Ignatius, Mont., 1911- Post Creek at Fitzpatrick's and Deschamp's ranches, near Ronan, Mont., 1906-1911. Jocko River, North Fork, near Jocko, Mont., 1912- Jocko River near Jocko, Mont., 1908- Jocko River at Ravalli, Mont., 1906-1911. Falls Creek near Jocko, Mont., 1912- Jocko River, South Fork, near Jocko, Mont., 1912- Jocko River, Middle Fork, hear Jocko, Mont., 1912- Big Knife Creek near Jocko, Mont, 1908- Agency Creek near Jocko, Mont., 1908- Blodgett Creek near Jocko, Mont., 1909-10. Finley Creek near Jocko, Mont., 1908- East Finley Creek near Jocko, Mont., 1908- Indian ditch near Jocko, Mont, 190S- Valley Creek near Ravalli, Mont., 1908-1911. Revais Creek near Dixon, Mont., 1911. Thompson River near Thompson Falls, Mont, 1911- Prospect Creek near Thompson Falls, Mont, 1911- Priest Lake at Priest Lake, near Coolin, Idaho, 1911- Priest River near Priest River, Idaho, 1910-1912. Sullivan Creek near Metaline, Wash., 1912- Sullivan flume near Metaline, Wash., 1912- Sullivan Lake near Metaline, Wash, 1912- 6 PROFILE SURVEYS IN BASIN OF CLARK FORK. PUBLICATIONS. The data on stream flow at the stations mentioned in the fore- going table have been published in the annual progress reports of stream measurements listed below by years. 1898___ 20th Annual Report, Part IV. 1899 Water-Supply Paper 38 1900 Water-Supply Paper 51 1901 Water-Supply Papers, 66, 75 1902 Water-Supply Paper 85 1903 Water-Supply Paper 100 1904 Water-Supply Paper 135 1905 Water-Supply Paper 178 1906 Water-Supply Paper 214 1907-8 Water-Supply Paper 252 1909 Water-Supply Paper 272 1910 Water-Supply Paper 292 1911 Water-Supply Paper '312 1912 Water-Supply Paper 2 332 ' Water-supply papers and other publications of the United States Geological Survey containing data in regard to the water resources of the United States may be obtained or consulted as indicated below. 1. Copies may be obtained free of charge by applying to the Director of the Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. The edition printed for free distribution is, however, small and is soon exhausted. 2. Copies may be purchased at nominal cost from the Superin- tendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., who will on application furnish lists giving prices. 3. Sets of the reports may be consulted in the libraries of the prin- cipal cities in the United States. 4. Complete sets are available for consultation in the local offices of the water-resources branch of the Geological Survey, as follows : Albany, N. Y., Room 18, Federal Building. Atlanta, Ga., Post-office Building Madison, Wis., Capitol Building. St. Paul, Minn., Old Capitol Building. Helena, Mont., Montana National Bank Building. Denver, Colo., 302 Chamber of Commerce Building. Salt Lake City, Utah, Federal Building. Boise, Idaho, 615 Idaho Building. Portland, Oreg., 416 Couch Building. Tacoma, Wash., Federal Building. San Francisco, Cal., 505 Customhouse. Los Angeles, Cal., Federal Building. Santa Fe, N. Mex., Capitol Building. Honolulu, Hawaii, Kapiolani Building. A list of the Geological Survey's publications will be sent on appli- cation to the Director of the United States Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. 1 In press. - In preparation. o \ U S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH. DIRECTOR PLAN AND PROFILE OF CLARK FORK. DEER LODGE. MONTANA, TO ST. REGIS, MONTANA WATER-SUPPLY PAPER. 346 PLATE I A 9 ■4: 4-4-ZO ___§/" ^^/^ 4-4-05 - ~~ __/^ -= ^__— — -""^ 3 8 7 Miles Valley level and cultivated M| DEER LODGE T8 NR9WMJI, Subject to adjustment R B. Marshall. Chiel Geog.aphe, iledee Tat u ,„. Geopaphe, in cha. e e ropo B iaphy by R. c. Sen; Suocyod in 19)0 Scale stfflfio Vertical scale 1 inch 20 feet Contour interval 5 feet Ootum ummn „!„,, 1914 2 U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH. DIRECTOR PLAN AND PROFILE OF CLARK FORK. DEER LODGE. MONTANA. TO ST. REGIS. MONTANA WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 346 PLATE R B Marshall, Chiel Sled 8 e Talum. Geo e i Topojiaphy by R. C. Surv,y»d |„ ,9,0 q U S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH. 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