| North Fork Clearwater River North Fork of the Clearwater River, The North Fork | |
|---|---|
 Dworshak Dam on the North Fork Clearwater, near its mouth | |
  Location of the mouth of the North Fork Clearwater River in Idaho  North Fork Clearwater River (the United States) | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Idaho |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Bitterroot Mountains |
| • location | Illinois Peak, Shoshone County |
| • coordinates | 47°00′11″N 115°06′16″W / 47.00306°N 115.10444°W |
| • elevation | 5,400 ft (1,600 m) |
| Mouth | Clearwater River |
• location | Ahsahka, Clearwater County |
• coordinates | 46°30′00″N 116°19′50″W / 46.50000°N 116.33056°W |
• elevation | 980 ft (300 m) |
| Length | 135 mi (217 km) |
| Basin size | 2,462 sq mi (6,380 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Clearwater River |
| • average | 5,687.5 cu ft/s (161.05 m3/s) |
| • minimum | 799 cu ft/s (22.6 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 110,000 cu ft/s (3,100 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Kelly Creek, Wetias Creek |
| • right | Little North Fork Clearwater River, Elizabeth Creek |
The North Fork Clearwater River is a major tributary of the Clearwater River in the U.S. state of Idaho.[1] From its headwaters in the Bitterroot Mountains of eastern Idaho, it flows 135 miles (217 km)[2] westward and is dammed by the Dworshak Dam just above its mouth in north-central Idaho. Draining a rugged watershed of 2,462 square miles (6,380 km2), the river has an average flow of over 5,600 cubic feet per second (160 m3/s), accounting for a third of the discharge from the Clearwater basin.[3] The river drains parts of Clearwater, Shoshone, Latah, and Idaho counties. Most of the watershed is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Some of the fish of the river include westslope cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, mountain whitefish, and the threatened bull trout. It also has smallmouth bass and a kokanee salmon run, both from Dworshak Reservoir. The North Fork drainage is home to grizzly bears, cougars, deer, moose, black bear, elk, grey wolves, and osprey. The river used to have a large steelhead run before the implementation of Dworshak Dam. The North Fork of the Clearwater is located within the Clearwater National Forest
- ^ "North Fork Clearwater River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 1979-06-21. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed May 3, 2011
- ^ "North Fork Clearwater River Basin". Idaho Department of Water Resources. www.idwr.idaho.gov. Retrieved 2009-08-05.