From the confluence, the Clearwater flows northwest, passing the Heart of the Monster site of the Nez Perce National Historical Park. The larger Middle Fork is made up of the combined flows of the Lochsa and Selway rivers which flow from the Bitterroot Mountains located to the east, while the much smaller South Fork originates in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness to the south. In the small town of Kooskia, the Middle Fork and South Fork of the Clearwater River join their waters to form the main stem of the Clearwater. Its mean annual discharge is 15,300 cubic feet per second (430 m 3/s) Course The drainage basin of the Clearwater River is 9,645 square miles (24,980 km 2). The River got its name for the Niimiipuutímt naming as Koos-Koos-Kia - 'clear water'.
In October 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition descended the Clearwater River in dugout canoes, putting in at 'Canoe Camp,' five miles (8 km) downstream from Orofino they reached the Columbia Bar and the Pacific Ocean about six weeks later.īy average discharge, the Clearwater River is the largest tributary of the Snake River. Its length is 74.8 miles (120.4 km), it flows westward from the Bitterroot Mountains along the Idaho- Montana border, and joins the Snake River at Lewiston. The Clearwater River is in the northwestern United States, in north central Idaho. Middle Fork Clearwater River, North Fork Clearwater River, Potlatch River
