Yaak River

The Yaak River (spelled Yahk River in Canada) is a tributary of the Kootenay River (spelled Kootenai in the United States) in the U.S. state of Montana and the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Yaak River Yahk River
Yaak River at Yaak, Montana
Location
Country	United States, Canada
State	Montana
Province	British Columbia
Physical characteristics
Source	Purcell Mountains
• location	Yahk Mountain
• coordinates	49°12′35″N 115°42′41″W[1]
• elevation	4,910 ft (1,500 m)[2]
Mouth	Kootenay River
• location	Troy, Montana
• coordinates	48°33′40″N 115°58′37″W[1]
• elevation	1,838 ft (560 m)[2]
Basin size	766 sq mi (1,980 km^2)[3]
Discharge
• location	mouth (near Troy, MT)[3]
• average	850 cu ft/s (24 m^3/s)[3]
• minimum	49 cu ft/s (1.4 m^3/s)
• maximum	11,600 cu ft/s (330 m^3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	East Fork Yaak River, South Fork Yaak River
• right	West Fork Yaak River

Course

Yaak River at Upper Yaak Falls

Yaak River at Lower Yaak Falls

The Yaak River originates near Yahk Mountain, in the Yahk Range, part of the Purcell Mountains, in southeast British Columbia. The river flows south, crossing into Lincoln County, Montana. It receives the East Fork Yaak River, then the West Fork Yaak River (also called the West Yahk River). The West Fork originates in Montana near Rock Candy Mountain, flows northeast into British Columbia, then southeast back into Montana to join the main Yaak River.

Below the West Fork confluence, the Yaak River receives the South Fork Yaak River before curving broadly west, then south, receiving numerous tributary creeks such as Spread Creek, Hellroaring Creek, and Burnt Creek (also called Burnt Grizzly Bear Creek), before flowing into the Kootenai River near Yaak Mountain and the small city of Troy, Montana.

In Montana, the Yaak River and its tributaries mostly lie within Kootenai National Forest.

The river has Class IV-V whitewater.[4] The river is Class III-V from Yaak Falls to its confluence with the Kootenai River for the purposes of public access for recreational purposes.[5]

History

According to British Columbia's Geographical Names Information System, "Yahk" is a Kootenay word meaning either "arrow" or "bow" and referring either to the Yaak River or the Kootenay River. The southward curve of the Kootenay River (from Canada into the United States and back into Canada) is said to be a "bow", with the Yaak River possibly being the "arrow" (if the name is from the Kootenay word "a'k").[6]

According to the USGS, variant names of the Yaak River include A'ak, Yaac, Yahk, Yahkh, and Yak.[1]

See also

• Montana Stream Access Law
• List of rivers of Montana
• List of British Columbia rivers

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Yaak River, USGS, GNIS
2. Google Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates
3. Montana Water Resources Data, 2004, USGS
4. http://www.americanwhitewater.org
5. Stream Access in Montana
6. Yahk River, BCGNIS