[148] In Montana, the river is rated a Class I water under the Montana Stream Access Law for recreational purposes from Libby Dam to the Montana-Idaho border. [69] The Doukhobors then constructed a brick factory at the present-day site of Grand Forks, from where they made bricks to be used mostly in the Brilliant settlement. [44] He then proceeded up the Pend Oreille River (noted as 'Pendoreilles') and crossed into the Kootenay River valley, which in his records was either the "Kootanie" or "Flat Bow River". [90] Wetlands are found primarily where the river broadens into a series of sloughs, side-channels, marshes and small lakes before entering Kootenay Lake. One of our country’s wildest rivers, the Kootenai River provides critical habitat for several rare and threatened native fish species, as well as wildlife like grizzly bear and woodland caribou. In the 1920s, unknown arsonists destroyed several public schools in Brilliant as an act against British Columbia law. In the Kootenai River, they can grow to be larger than 200 pounds. [28] Formations of Cambrian and Devonian rock also appear in small amounts in the U.S. portion of the Kootenay. It was with the creation of this temporary body of water that salmon somehow managed to swim over the submerged Canal Flats and into the Kootenay, where they became trapped. Because of the size and strength of the river, fishing from drift boats is easier than from the shore. It receives the Fisher River from the south and turns west, passing Libby, Montana. The northern Ktunaxa hunted buffalo, while the southerners mainly fished. In Idaho the river enters the gentle terrain of the Kootenai Valley,[19] turning north at Bonners Ferry[16][17], The Kootenai re-enters Canada and becomes the Kootenay again south of Creston, British Columbia, and flows through a marshy area called the Kootenay Flats. Diversion of the glacier-fed Kootenay River would have resulted in the Columbia River becoming much deeper and colder, flooding riverside communities and damaging tourism. About 15,000 years ago, the Cordilleran Ice Sheet advanced southwards into present-day BC, Montana and Idaho, blocking the Kootenay River at the outlet of Kootenay Lake, which did not yet exist.

Today, little remains of the former settlement at Brilliant except for Verigin's tomb. "[30] However, linguistic and other evidence suggests that they are descended from Great Plains tribes that were driven out of their historic territory by the Blackfeet in the 16th century. "[41] Of course, wine, beer, rum and other intoxicating drinks were imported in time. The U.S.-Canadian border split the people into seven communities. Both ships had not even reached Canal Flats when they hit rocks in the Columbia. [98], Logging began in the 19th century as a result of white emigration to the Kootenay region, and remains one of the primary industries of the area. [72] Brilliant was one of the first cities in the area to have running water; a reservoir was constructed to hold water from the Kootenay River and a local spring,[73] and by 1912, each household had running water. In 1944 the last privately owned development Brilliant Dam was built, just 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) before the Kootenay river flows into the Columbia River at Castlegar. Conventional coal deposits underlie much of the East Kootenay, especially in the Elk River valley which is home to the Elk Valley Coalfield,[103] and the Crowsnest Coalfield in the Purcell Mountains. A gold rush on the Kootenay and later silver and galena strikes in its western basins in the late 19th century drew thousands of miners and settlers to the region, who soon were followed by the arrival of railroads and steamboats. By 1913, there were already more than 5,000 Doukhobors living in the region. [135] Kikomun Creek Provincial Park, on the northeast shore of Lake Koocanusa, includes campgrounds and access to boat launches on the east shore of the lake. All except Corra Linn, which was built to raise and regulate the level of Kootenay Lake.

RANGE: The Kootenai River population of white sturgeon is one of 18 landlocked populations of white sturgeon found in the Pacific Northwest.

Females are reported to spawn once every two to 11 years. [100] [77] The Doukhobor leader was buried in an elaborate tomb on a headland overlooking the city of Brilliant and the Kootenay and Columbia Rivers. [36] After spending a winter in Montana, he tried to reach the Columbia by traveling down the Pend Oreille River but failed in this attempt, eventually returning to Kootenae House via the Kootenay River northwards the following spring.[37][38]. [12][31] The Ktunaxa are considered quite isolated from other Pacific Northwest and Great Plains tribes. They also cleared areas of level ground in order to plant orchards and fields, and constructed sawmills on the Columbia and Kootenay rivers to process the logs into lumber. Their language is an "isolate", which is only distantly related (if at all) to the Salishan languages spoken by tribes of the Lake Pend d'-Oreille area. DESCRIPTION: Sturgeon have cartilaginous skeletons and a tube-like mouth.

Horrible new diseases killed many tribal members. [93] This is attributed to a Kootenay River flood a long time ago, before the construction of any dams on the Columbia (Columbia River dams now block salmon from reaching any of the salmon run streams above Chief Joseph Dam[94] The Kootenay continues southeast, receiving the Palliser River from the left, and flows south into a gorge at the confluence with the White River. [68] In 1909, he purchased about 14,000 acres (57 km2) adjoining the mouth of the Kootenay River partly using funds raised by sale of farm equipment in Saskatchewan,[68] and added to other lands acquired throughout BC, Doukhobor-owned lands ultimately totaled 19,000 acres (77 km2). These include "Kootanie", "Kootenie", and "Kootienay". The whole area was known by the name, Dolina Ooteschenie, meaning "valley of consolation". As a result, this proposed river diversion was never undertaken. It would also make easier the reclamation of the Kootenay Flats, an area south of Kootenay Lake, for agricultural purposes—spring freshets once raised the level of the lake by up to 8 metres (26 ft), inundating the lowlands around it. Mountain ranges in the region generally trend from northwest to southeast and define drainage patterns with their steep and dramatic vertical relief, with the exception of the Kootenay itself which cuts westwards at its southern bend. Part of the lower Kootenay forms Kootenay Lake, one of the biggest natural lakes in British Columbia. The new town's site was officially named Kootenai (though still known as Fisherville), also spelled Kootenay and Koutenais and also known as Wild Horse. The upper Columbia River basin forms the boundary on the north, and the Kicking Horse River watershed also borders the north side of the Kootenay basin. HABITAT: Kootenai River white sturgeon live in the freshwater of the Kootenai River. At the opposite end of the scale, it would dry the bed of the Kootenay River downstream of Canal Flats, cutting off water supply to residents of the upper Kootenay Valley and invalidating the effectiveness of Libby Dam, whose construction was to begin in a few years.

In Canada, these include those listed below as well as many others. Most of the reasonably level terrain lies in the narrow Kootenay River valley from Bonners Ferry to Kootenay Lake and in parts of the Rocky Mountain Trench from Canal Flats to Lake Koocanusa.

The tribal elders hand down the skills and traditions of the ancestors, and many tribal members still speak the Kootenai language. The final westbound stretch of the river flows through a deep canyon, forming several waterfalls including Bonnington Falls. Source elevations and coordinates derived from Google Earth using data from Canadian topo maps, The Canadian portion of the Columbia basin encompasses 102,823 square kilometres (39,700 sq mi) of which 50,298 square kilometres (19,420 sq mi) drain to the Kootenay River, The usage of the term "Canadian portion of the Columbia Basin" in this article denotes any parts of the Columbia River watershed that drain to the Columbia upstream of where it crosses the Canada-US border, regardless if the tributary passes through the United States as well (such as the Kootenay).