Lochsa River

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Lochsa River (Idaho)
Lochsa River
Lochsa River Canyon in Idaho
Salmon River

Courtesy of Idaho Travel Council

The Lochsa River is located in the northwestern United States, in the mountains of North Central Idaho . It is one of two primary tributaries (with the Selway to the south) of the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River in the Clearwater National Forest. The name "Lochsa" comes from the Nez Perce phrase for "rough water."

The Lochsa (pronounced "lock-saw") was included by the U.S. Congress in 1968 as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act; the Lochsa and the Selway (and their tributaries) have no dams along their length, resulting in a natural, unregulated flow from spring (and summer) runoff. In late spring (mid-May to mid-June), the Lochsa River is rated as one of the world's best for continuous whitewater.

The main stem of the Lochsa is 68.7 miles (111 km) in length from its headwaters in the Bitterroots to the confluence with the Selway at Lowell, forming the Middle Fork of the Clearwater at 1,486 feet (453 m) above sea level.[1]

The drainage basin for the Lochsa River system comprises 748,773 acres (3,030 km²) in Idaho County. The river is fed by the melting of the significant snowpack of the Bitterroot Range.

Downstream from Lowell, the Middle Fork of the Clearwater flows west, adding the South and North Forks, and into the Snake River at Lewiston, at the border with Washington. The Snake passes through four dams in southeastern Washington before entering the Columbia River just south of the Tri-Cities. The first dam encountered is the Lower Granite Dam, completed in the early 1970s, whose Lower Granite Lake extends 39 miles (63 km) back to Lewiston.


Contents

[edit] Anthropology

Historically, the Nez Perce people used the trail along the Lochsa River to travel to the plains of Montana to hunt buffalo. Montana natives (Kootenai and Salish) used the river trail to reach salmon runs in the rivers and streams feeding into the Columbia basin.

[edit] Corps of Discovery

During mid-September 1805, Lewis and Clark traveled westward along the Lolo Trail, descending into and out of the Lochsa Gorge, then above its north rim. They experienced significant early season snowfall and suffered near starvation before exiting the mountains onto the Weippe prairie, where they first encountered the Nez Perce tribe.[1]

[edit] U.S. Route 12

U.S. Route 12 follows the Lochsa River along its north bank.[2] One of the last two-lane U.S. highways constructed, US-12 was completed in the early 1960s, connecting Lewiston with Missoula over Lolo Pass. Two railroads, the Northern Pacific and Union Pacific, had originally planned to ascend the Lochsa; the Northern won the rights and even completed some grades in 1908, but abandoned the project in 1909. The highway along the river was not completed for another fifty years. There are no services (food, gasoline, or lodging) for the 84 miles (135 km) between Lowell and Lolo Hot Springs, Montana, 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Lolo Pass.

[edit] Communities

  • Lowell
  • Powell

[edit] Wildlife

Birds
Fish
Mammals

[edit] Recreation

[edit] Attractions

[edit] References

  1. ^ Feature Detail Report. Geographic Names Information System. United States Department of the Interior (1979). Retrieved on March 30, 2007.
  2. ^ Clearwater National Forest (2004). Highway 12: a Long and Winding Road. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service. 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Designation of Critical Habitat for the Klamath River and Columbia River Distinct Population Segments of Bull Trout. Washington D.C. ; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Office of Endangered Species, 2002

Hazelbaker, Kris 2004. Caring for a wild and scenic river In: Shepperd, Wayne D.; Eskew, Lane G., compilers. 2004. Silviculture in special places: Proceedings of the National Silviculture Workshop; 2003 September 8-11; Granby, CO. Proceedings RMRS-P-34. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 207-216.

Moore, W. R. The Lochsa story - Land Ethics In The Bitterroot Mountains. Missoula, Mont.; Mountain Publishing Co., 1996. ISBN 0878423419

Conley, Cort Idaho for the Curious, Backeddy Books, Cambridge, Idaho; 1982, p.107. ISBN 0-903566-3-0

[edit] External links

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