Belt Creek | |
Image Alt: | Cliffs in Sluice Boxes State Park |
Pushpin Map: | USA Montana |
Pushpin Map Size: | 280 |
Pushpin Map Alt: | Location of Belt Creek in Montana. |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Mouth of Belt Creek in Montana |
Source1 Coordinates: | 46.8458°N -110.6692°W |
Mouth Coordinates: | 47.5981°N -111.0486°W |
Mouth Coord Ref: | [1] |
Subdivision Type1: | Country |
Subdivision Name1: | Cascade and Chouteau County, Montana |
Mouth Elevation: | 2792feet |
Discharge1 Location: | near Portage |
Discharge1 Avg: | 249cuft/s[2] |
River System: | Missouri River |
Belt Creek (kɔyɔ́ɔteihíniicááh|lit=belt river[3]) is a tributary, approximately 80 mi (129 km) long, of the Missouri River in western Montana in the United States.
It originates in the Lewis and Clark National Forest north of Big Baldy Mountain, in the Little Belt Mountains in western Judith Basin County. It flows northwest through mountainous canyons (Limestone Canyon) past Monarch, through Sluice Boxes State Park, and flows through Armington and Belt. It finally joins the Missouri approximately 15 mi (25 km) northwest of Great Falls of the Missouri and 2miles downstream of Morony Dam.[4]
It is named for the Little Belt Mountains, which it flows through.[3]
Willow, cottonwood, chokecherry, and wild roses grow in part of the canyon stretch and in a large band in the foothill zone. Brook, Brown, and Rainbow Trout have been introduced to the creek. Native fish include several minnows, mooneye,perch, sculpin, 4 types of suckers, and 2 types of trout.