Bear River, Utah
Bear River | ||
Lake in the headwaters of the Bear River |
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Data | ||
Water code | US : 1438485 | |
location | Wyoming , Idaho , Utah (USA) | |
River system | Bear River | |
confluence | by Hayden Fork and Stillwater Fork in the Uinta Mountains 40 ° 52 ′ 2 ″ N , 110 ° 50 ′ 9 ″ W |
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Source height | 2594 m | |
muzzle |
Great Salt Lake Coordinates: 41 ° 27 ′ 30 ″ N , 112 ° 17 ′ 25 ″ W 41 ° 27 ′ 30 ″ N , 112 ° 17 ′ 25 ″ W |
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Mouth height | 1281 m | |
Height difference | 1313 m | |
Bottom slope | 2.3 ‰ | |
length | 563 km | |
Left tributaries | Bear Lake Outlet , Little Bear River | |
Right tributaries | Malad River | |
Reservoirs flowed through | Cutler Reservoir | |
Bear River catchment area |
The Bear River ( English for "Bear River") is a 563 km long river in southwest Wyoming , southeast Idaho and northern Utah in the United States .
The body of water is the largest tributary of the Great Salt Lake . The river drains the mountain range east of the lake as well as the farmland in the valleys between and southwest of the Snake River Plain .
description
The course of the river resembles an inverted large U that wraps around the northern end of the Wasatch Range . The Bear River rises in the northeast of Utah in several short arms on the northern flank of the up to 4100 m high Uinta Mountains in the south of Summit County . It flows north and cuts through the southwest corner of Wyoming at Evanston . The river then meanders on its way north along the state line between Utah and Wyoming. It then turns northwest into Franklin County and flows through the Bear Lake Valley . It passes Montpelier , where the short Bear Lake Outlet flows in, which drains Bear Lake . At Soda Springs at the northern end of the Wasatch Range, the Bear River swings abruptly to the south in a left curve. It flows past Preston in the broad Cache Valley that extends north from Logan . The river returns to Utah south of Preston and meanders past Cornish and Newton . Due to the damming, the river forms the Cutler Reservoir , where the Little Bear River joins from the south . From the western end of the reservoir, the river flows south through the Bear River Valley and passes Bear River City . Before the Bear River pours into the muddy shallow water of an extensive bay on the east side of the Great Salt Lake, about 15 km southwest of Brigham City , the Malad River joins from the north .
The river is used for irrigation in the fertile valleys it flows through in its lower reaches in Idaho and Utah . The last 15 km before the mouth in a small river delta are protected and form the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge .
history
At the beginning of the 19th century, the river valley was populated by Schosonen . Hudson's Bay Company trappers began exploring the area from 1812. They came south across the Snake River . In the late 1840s, the valley was a destination for Mormon pioneers . On January 29, 1863, United States Army troops attacked a Shoshone winter village in Cache Valley, killing many of its residents. This massacre became known as the Bear River Battle .
See also
Web links
- Bear River in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System
- Bear River Watershed. USU Digital Library
- Bear River. In: Utah History Encyclopedia, University of Utah.
- Bear River Massacre. In: Utah History Encyclopedia, University of Utah.
- Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. United States Fish & Wildlife Service