Whitefish River (Montana)

History

Whitefish River and Whitefish Lake were named in the 1850s for the abundant whitefish harvested there. The Salish call them epɫx̣ʷy̓u, "has whitefish".

Course

The Whitefish River originates in Whitefish Lake and flows generally south until it joins the Stillwater River just before the Flathead River about 1 mi east of Kalispell. The river's uppermost reach leaves the lake and flows through the city of Whitefish for 2.5 mi. The Whitefish River has three tributaries of significance. Small Cow Creek flows southwest 4.5 mi and discharges into the river 2 mi downstream from Whitefish Lake. Next, several headwater tributaries beginning in the Whitefish Mountain Resort form Haskill Creek which flows 11 mi south to the Whitefish River 4.5 mi downstream from Whitefish Lake. The third tributary to Whitefish River is Walker Creek which begins in the southern flank of the Whitefish Range and joins the river 5 mi below the Whitefish Lake outlet.

Ecology

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) determined in 2014 that the Whitefish River was temperature-impaired, meaning that high temperature impairs aquatic life and that a reduction in water temperature of 0.99 °F was recommended.

Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi) are considers indicator species of stream health, and are present in the Whitefish River, although in greatly diminished numbers. The primary threat to native cutthroat trout is hybridization with non-native rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). A 2001 genetics study of cutthroat trout in the river showed 98.2% rainbow trout and 1.8% westslope cutthroat trout genetics in a sample of 15 fish. Other native fish species include the river's namesake mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni), largescale sucker ((Catostomus macrocheilus)), longnose sucker ((Catostomus catostomus)), northern pikeminnow ((Ptychocheilus oregonensis)), peamouth chub (Mylocheilus caurinus,), redside shiner ((Richardsonius balteatus)), and slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus). Non-native fish species include northern pike (Esox lucius) which preys on native trout species.

References

References

1. {{cite gnis
2. "USGS Current Conditions for USGS 12366000 Whitefish River near Kalispell MT".
3. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. [http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ The National Map] {{webarchive. link. (2012-03-29 , accessed January 5, 2019)
4. Rich Aarstad. (2009). "Montana Place Names: From Alzada to Zortman". Montana Historical Society Press.
5. Tachini, Pete. (1998). "nyoʻnuntn q̓éymin, Flathead Nation Salish dictionary". Bilingual Education Department, [[Salish Kootenai College]].
6. Whitefish Lake Institute. (2015). "Whitefish Area Water Resources Report: A Status of the Whitefish Lake Watershed and Surrounding Area". Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.
7. Montana DEQ and U.S. EPA Region 8. (December 1, 2014). "Flathead – Stillwater Planning Area Nutrient, Sediment, and Temperature TMDLs and Water Quality Improvement Plan". Montana Dept. of Environmental Quality.