Sun River

Sun River
Medicine River, Pointed Rock River
River
The headwaters of the Sun River in the Rockies, near Gibson Reservoir
Country	United States
State	Montana
Part of	Missouri River watershed
Tributaries
- left	North Fork Sun River, Muddy Creek
- right	South Fork Sun River, Willow Creek
Cities	Fairfield, Sun River, Vaughn, Great Falls
Primary source	North Fork Sun River
- location	Confluence of Open Creek and McDonald Creek, Lewis and Clark County
- elevation	5,781 ft (1,762 m) [1]
- coordinates	47°54′43″N 112°58′23″W / 47.91194°N 112.97306°W / 47.91194; -112.97306 [2]
Secondary source	South Fork Sun River
- location	Sun Lake, Lewis and Clark County
- elevation	6,988 ft (2,130 m) [3]
- coordinates	47°20′07″N 112°53′29″W / 47.33528°N 112.89139°W / 47.33528; -112.89139 [4]
Source confluence
- location	Near Gibson Reservoir, Lewis and Clark County
- elevation	4,728 ft (1,441 m) [2]
- coordinates	47°37′47″N 112°51′25″W / 47.62972°N 112.85694°W / 47.62972; -112.85694 [5]
Mouth	Missouri River
- location	Great Falls, Cascade County
- elevation	3,314 ft (1,010 m) [5]
- coordinates	47°29′42″N 111°18′43″W / 47.49500°N 111.31194°W / 47.49500; -111.31194 [5]
Length	130 mi (209 km)
Basin	1,875 sq mi (4,856 km2) [6]
Discharge	for Vaughn
- average	669 cu ft/s (19 m3/s) [7]
- max	53,500 cu ft/s (1,515 m3/s)
- min	20 cu ft/s (1 m3/s)
Location of the mouth of the Sun River in Montana

The Sun River (also called the Medicine River) is a tributary of the Missouri River in the Great Plains, approximately 130 mi (209 km) long, in Montana in the United States.

It rises in the Rocky Mountains in two forks, the North Fork and South Fork, which join in the Flathead National Forest above Gibson Reservoir along the county line between Teton and Lewis and Clark counties. It flows E, SE, and E away from the mountains, past Simms, Sun River, and Vaughn and joins the Missouri at Great Falls.

The water of the river is used extensively for irrigation, through the Sun River Project of the United States Bureau of Reclamation. The irrigation area covers approximately 92,000 acres (372 km²).

The North Fork of the Sun River begins high up in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and flows generally Southward for about 20 miles (32 km) until it meets up with the South Fork of the Sun River. Almost immediately the two forks flow into Gibson Reservoir, impounded by Gibson Dam. From when the water leaves the reservoir until it meets the Missouri River in Great Falls, the flowage is known as the Sun River.

The Sun is a Class I river from Gibson Dam to its confluence with the Missouri River for public access for recreational purposes.^[8]

History

A sign located 3 miles south of Great Falls gives information on the history of the Sun River.

This river was called "The Medicine" by the Indians. On the return trip from the coast Capt. Lewis of the Lewis & Clark Expedition struck this river approximately 50 miles west of here. He followed it down to the Missouri passing near this point July 11, 1806. In his journal under that date he said:

"when I arrived in sight of the white-bear Islands the missouri bottoms on both sides of the river were crowded with buffaloe I sincerely beleif (sic) that there were not less than 10 thousand buffaloe within a circle of 2 miles around that place"

The City of Great Falls covers a portion of the plain across which the Expedition made their difficult 18 mile portage around the falls of the Missouri in June 1805

See also

Aerial view of Sun River in Cascade County in early spring 2009

• List of rivers of Montana
• Montana Stream Access Law

External links

• EPA: Sun River Watershed
• Sun River Information

Notes

v t e  State of Montana Helena (capital) Topics Index Congressional delegations Geography Government Governors History bibliography People Protected areas Sports State symbols Transportation Visitor attractions Society Crime Culture Demographics Economy Education Politics Regions Eastern Montana The Flathead Glacier National Park Regional designations of Montana Western Montana Yellowstone Largest cities Anaconda Belgrade Billings Bozeman Butte Glendive Great Falls Havre Helena Kalispell Laurel Lewistown Livingston Miles City Missoula Sidney Whitefish Counties Beaverhead Big Horn Blaine Broadwater Carbon Carter Cascade Chouteau Custer Daniels Dawson Deer Lodge Fallon Fergus Flathead Gallatin Garfield Glacier Golden Valley Granite Hill Jefferson Judith Basin Lake Lewis and Clark Liberty Lincoln Madison McCone Meagher Mineral Missoula Musselshell Park Petroleum Phillips Pondera Powder River Powell Prairie Ravalli Richland Roosevelt Rosebud Sanders Sheridan Silver Bow Stillwater Sweet Grass Teton Toole Treasure Valley Wheatland Wibaux Yellowstone