Flathead Lake

Flathead Lake
člq̓etkʷ (Kalispel-Pend d'Oreille)
yawuʔnik̓ ʔa·kuq̓nuk (Kutenai)
Location of Flathead Lake in Montana, USA.
Location of Flathead Lake in Montana, USA.
Flathead Lake
Location of Flathead Lake in Montana, USA.
Location of Flathead Lake in Montana, USA.
Flathead Lake
LocationLake / Flathead counties, Montana, US
Coordinates47°54′6″N 114°6′15″W / 47.90167°N 114.10417°W / 47.90167; -114.10417
TypeMoraine-dammed lake
Primary inflows
Primary outflowsFlathead River
Catchment area8,587 sq mi (22,240 km2)
Basin countriesUnited States
Max. length27.3 mi (43.9 km)[1]
Max. width15.5 mi (24.9 km)[1]
Surface area197 sq mi (510 km2)[2]
Average depth164.7 ft (50.2 m)
Max. depth370.7 ft (113.0 m)[1]
Water volume5.56 cu mi (23.2 km3)[1]
Residence time3.4 years
Shore length1161.4 mi (259.7 km)[1]
Surface elevation2,894 ft (882 m)
IslandsWild Horse Island; Cromwell, Bird, Bull, Little Bull, Melita, Shelter, Cedar, Mother-in-Law, Dream, Goose, Mary B, Rock Island; Douglas Islands
Settlements7 miles (11 km) south of Kalispell, Montana; Polson, Montana
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Flathead Lake (Salish: člq̓etkʷ, Kutenai: yawuʔnik̓ ʔa·kuq̓nuk)[3] is a large natural lake in northwest Montana, United States.

The lake is a remnant of the ancient, massive glacial dammed lake, Lake Missoula, of the era of the last interglacial.[4] Flathead Lake is a natural lake along the mainline of the Flathead River. It was dammed in 1930 by Kerr Dam at its outlet on Polson Bay, slightly raising the lake level; the dam generates electricity.[5] The hydroelectric has been owned and operated by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes since 2015. It is one of the cleanest lakes in the populated world for its size and type.[6]

  1. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference flbs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference leeden was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Johnson, Adam N.; Sievert, Regina; Durglo, Michael; et al. (2014). "Indigenous Knowledge and Geoscience on the Flathead Indian Reservation, Northwest Montana: Implications for Place-Based and Culturally Congruent Education" (PDF). Journal of Geoscience Education. 62 (2): 187–202. Bibcode:2014JGeEd..62..187J. doi:10.5408/12-393.1. S2CID 129648399. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  4. ^ "The Cordilleran Ice Sheet and Missoula Floods". USGS: Glacial Lake Missoula. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  5. ^ Kerr Dam, PPL Montana Archived 2016-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Flathead Lake & Watershed Overview, Flathead Lakers Archived 2015-03-22 at the Wayback Machine