Kootenai, river, Canada and the United States

Kootenai ko͞oˈtĭnā [key], river, 407 mi (655 km) long, rising in the Rocky Mts., SE British Columbia, Canada. It flows S into NW Montana, NW through N Idaho, then N into Canada. There it flows through Kootenay Lake (64 mi/103 km long; 191 sq mi/495 sq km), an expansion of the river, before joining the Columbia River at Castlegar. The river is used to generate hydroelectricity. The Canadian name is spelled Kootenay.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Canadian Physical Geography