The
Spokane River is a tributary of the
Columbia RiverThe Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, approximately long, in northern
IdahoIdaho is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans." Idaho was admitted to the Union on 3 July 1890 as the 43rd state....
and eastern
WashingtonWashington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It drains a low mountainous area east of the Columbia, passing through the city of
SpokaneSpokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, as well as the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
, which shares its name with the river. Heavily used for
irrigationIrrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil. It is usually used to assist in growing crops in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
and drinking water, its
watershedA drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean...
comprises a region of extensive farming and timber production. The lowered water levels in the river have resulted in an ongoing pollution crisis and a political struggle over its resolution.
The Spokane River's entire
drainage basinA drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean...
is about large, of which are above Post Falls Dam at the outlet of Coeur d'Alene Lake.
The
Spokane River is a tributary of the
Columbia RiverThe Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, approximately long, in northern
IdahoIdaho is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans." Idaho was admitted to the Union on 3 July 1890 as the 43rd state....
and eastern
WashingtonWashington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It drains a low mountainous area east of the Columbia, passing through the city of
SpokaneSpokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, as well as the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
, which shares its name with the river. Heavily used for
irrigationIrrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil. It is usually used to assist in growing crops in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
and drinking water, its
watershedA drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean...
comprises a region of extensive farming and timber production. The lowered water levels in the river have resulted in an ongoing pollution crisis and a political struggle over its resolution.
The Spokane River's entire
drainage basinA drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean...
is about large, of which are above Post Falls Dam at the outlet of Coeur d'Alene Lake. Its mean annual
dischargeIn hydrology, discharge is the volume rate of water flow, including any suspended solids , dissolved chemical species and/or biologic material , which is transported through a given cross-sectional area....
is .
Description
The Spokane River rises out of
Lake Coeur d'AleneLake Coeur d'Alene is a lake in the Idaho Panhandle, located in the vicinity of the city of the same name. It spans long, ranges from 1 to wide and has over of shoreline for boaters and vacationers to explore and enjoy. The lake is fed primarily by two rivers, Coeur d'Alene River and Saint Joe...
in the Idaho Panhandle, draining from the northwest corner of the lake near the city of
Coeur d'AleneCoeur d'Alene is the largest city and county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census the population of Coeur d'Alene was 34,514...
. It flows west approximately 25 mi (40 km) into east central Washington to Spokane, where it receives
Latah CreekLatah Creek, also known as Hangman Creek, is a low-volume river in eastern Washington and western Idaho in the United States. The river flows northwest from the Rocky Mountains to Spokane, where it empties into the Spokane River...
from the south.
From Spokane it flows northwest, receiving the
Little Spokane RiverThe Little Spokane River is a major tributary of the Spokane River, approximately 35 mi long, in eastern Washington in the United States. It drains a rural area of forested foothills and a farming valley north of the city of Spokane along the Idaho-Washington border.It rises in southern Pend...
from the east approximately 10 mi northwest of the city. It flows in a zigzag course along the southern edge of the
Selkirk MountainsThe Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia. They begin at Mica Peak near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and extend approximately 320 km north from the border. The range is bounded on its west,...
, forming the southern boundary of the Spokane Indian Reservation, where it is impounded by the Little Falls Dam, and to form Long Lake, a 15 mi (24 km) reservoir. It joins
Franklin D. Roosevelt LakeFranklin D. Roosevelt Lake is the reservoir created in 1941 by the impoundment of the Columbia River by the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state. It is named for Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was President during the construction of the dam...
on the Columbia from the east at Miles. The site of historic Fort Spokane is located at the mouth of the river on the Columbia.
Crisis
Much of the river's water, particularly during the summer, comes from underground springs fed by the Spokane-Rathdrum Aquifer. The aquifer provides drinking water for 400,000 people in the Spokane area, as well as extensive irrigation water along its course. The use of the aquifer water is so extensive that
Spokane FallsSpokane Falls is the name of the series of waterfalls and dams on the Spokane River in downtown Spokane, Washington.The falls consists of an Upper Falls and a Lower Falls. The Upper Falls is the site of the Upper Falls Dam, a diversion dam constructed in 1920 that directs the water into the Upper...
, the signature natural feature of the city of Spokane, runs dry during many summers, with all the water being diverted to the Upper Falls and Lower Falls hydroelectric power plants. The lowered water levels have raised the toxicity of the stream, resulting in low concentrations of dissolved
oxygenOxygen Oxygen Oxygen (acid, literally "sharp", from the taste of acids) and -γενής (-genēs) (producer, literally begetter) is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O...
and
algaeAlgae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms. The largest and most complex marine forms are called seaweeds. They are photosynthetic, like plants, and "simple" because they lack the many distinct organs found in...
blooms along much of the river's lower course.
In 2002 the
Environmental Protection AgencyThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged to regulate chemicals and protect human health by safeguarding the natural environment: air, water, and land...
issued a
SuperfundSuperfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up abandoned hazardous waste sites Superfund created the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry , and it provides broad...
cleanup plan for the Spokane River-Lake Coeur d'Alene basin. In a controversial move, the
BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
administration transferred control of the Idaho portion to the state of Idaho, which opposes the Superfund designation and the cleanup, partly based on its high cost and possible effect on
real estateReal estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings, specifically property that is fixed in location.
"Real estate" The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin...
prices.
It has also been confirmed that there is heavy metal pollution in the Spokane River, resulting from pollution coming from Lake Coeur D'Alene (a large lake East of Spokane in Idaho) and traveling from the
Bunker HillBunker Hill is the name of* A hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts** Battle of Bunker Hill, a battle American Revolutionary War fought near the hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts...
Superfund Site (BHSS).
The Spokane River has also suffered heavily from phosphorus pollution, mostly from dishwashing detergent entering the river. In 2007, an average of 1,769 pounds of phosphorus entered the Spokane wastewater treatment plant every day.
Fish habitat
The Spokane River supports populations of
rainbow troutThe rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America as well as much of the central, western, eastern, and especially the northern portions of the United States...
, northern pikeminnow, and bridgelip suckers (see
CatostomidaeCatostomidae is the sucker family of the order Cypriniformes. There are 80 species in this family of freshwater fishes. Catostomidae are found in North America, east central China, and eastern Siberia...
), as well as several non-native species. It supported several species of
salmonSalmon is the common name for several species of fish of the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the family are called trout; the difference is often attributed to the migratory life of the salmon as compared to the residential behaviour of trout, a distinction that holds true for the Salmo...
until the construction of Long Lake Dam in 1915 by Washington Water Power blocked upstream passage.
See also
- List of Idaho rivers
- List of Washington rivers
- Spokane River Centennial Trail
The Spokane River Centennial Trail is a paved trail in Washington for alternate transportation and recreational use. It extends from Sontag Park in Nine Mile Falls, Washington to the Washington/Idaho border. It passes through the cities of Spokane, Washington, Spokane Valley, Washington, Liberty...
- North Idaho Centennial Trail
The North Idaho Centennial Trail is a paved trail in Idaho used for transportation and recreational activities. Extending from Higgins Point on the northeast side of Lake Coeur d'Alene, a popular place for bald eagle watchers in early winter, the trail follows the lake's north shoreline to the...
- Harker Canyon
Harker Canyon is formed by a tributary of the Spokane River, where it forms the Spokane Arm of Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, in Lincoln County, Washington, United States. A small portion of the canyon where it empties into the Spokane River is part of the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area...
External links