6o Thg Kootenai (or Kootenay) River enters the Columbia at; 

 river mil9~T7E^ 3 miles belov; the Arrow Lakes » At approximately 

 50 miles above its mouth„ at Nelson, BoCoj the river has widened 

 to form Kootenai Lake, whose 141,120 acres of clear, deep, cool 

 water make it the largest lake in the Columbia River systemo Above 

 the lake the river loops back into Montana and then back into Canada 

 to run northward some 200 miles further to its origin in the mountains 

 and in ao doing it passes within a mile of Columbia Lake at Canal Flats, 

 Above Kootenay Lake, the river has a moderate gradient, and in 1894 

 Captain Jennings built a steamer., the North Star, at Jennings, Montana 

 and sailed it up the wild Kootenai to Canal Flats, and went through 

 the canal into Columbia Lake and into the Columbia River itselfo 



Unfortunate ly, the steep gradient of the lower 50 miles of the 

 river below Nelson, Bo Co, prevented salmon from ascending this large 

 river and lake systemo In the lower section the river drops 350 

 feet in 28 miles of mostly white water. Gilbert and Everman (1894) 

 report many cascades and turbulent rapids » They report that blu9«=- 

 back salmon inhabit the waters of this region, but apparently refer 

 to the small landlocked form which are seen in considerable numbers 

 when they enter the streams to spawn in the fallo l^an (1917) 

 reports that Bonnington Falls at approximately 20 miles up is one of 

 the noblest waterfalls on the entire Columbia River system, and it 

 would seem that this series of cascades and falls would alone have 

 stopped any ascent of salmono A hydroelectric plant at this falls 

 now supplies power to the towns of Trail and Nelsong... 



7o The Canoe Rivet* is the extreme north branch of the Columbia 

 Rivers rising beyond latitude 53^, and entering the main Columbia at 

 its extreme northern point at the '*Big Bendo" It is over 60 miles 

 long, heading near the upper Fraser River. It obtained its name 

 from the fact that it was known to the earliest traders and 7oyageurs 

 for the excellence of barks obtained on its banks for canoe building •> 

 Freeman ;1921) describes it as being 40 yards wide at its mouth, and 

 "flowing through a densely timbered valley in which the trees overhang 

 the stream to such an extent as to almost shut it out from the light 

 of heaveno* Its waters were chocolate colored in the fall months 

 and it is apparently quite swift, although trappers go down it in 

 boats from its headwaters «> Lyman describes it as a furious mountain 

 stream, and it probably lacked spawning grounds for salmon. 



8o Wood River (formerly Portage River) enters the Columbia from 

 the oas-t just above the Canoe River* It originates at the divide in 

 the crest of the Rockies known as the '*height of land" in a small lakso 

 Within 30 3^rds of it is a second lake feeding the east=f lowing lUhirl" 

 pool River, a branch of the Athabaska« The Wood River flows through 

 a tremendous cleft in the main range between lofty Mte Brown and Mto 

 Hooker, and it was up this steep canyon that the early British fu'" 

 traders passed to and from the upper Columbia. The water is said to 

 be exceptionally cold, and salmon evidently did not use this swift 

 stream to any extent o 



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