Colter Falls Explained

Colter Falls
Coordinates:47.5375°N -111.2147°W
Location:Montana, U.S.
Height:14feet
Width:0.5miles
Watercourse:Missouri River
Average Flow: per day[1]

Colter Falls, also called Coulter Falls, is a waterfall on the Missouri River in north-central Montana, and part of the Great Falls of the Missouri. Downstream of Colter Falls lies Rainbow Falls, and upstream is Black Eagle Falls. The falls is now flooded in the impoundment behind Rainbow Dam. As Rainbow Dam's reservoir is a run-of-the-river reservoir, it rarely is emptied, so the falls are rarely seen even in extreme drought.

Discovery

The Lewis and Clark Expedition visited the falls, first describing the Westslope cutthroat trout at their base, but did not name them. They were named by Paris Gibson, founder of the city of Great Falls, Montana.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: MSP_Brochure_2014Web.pdf . 2014 . Montana State Parks . 28 November 2017 . Giant Springs flows at 156 million gallons a day. . https://web.archive.org/web/20171129041413/http://stateparks.mt.gov/fwpDoc.html?id=25370 . 2017-11-29 . live.