The Potlatch River is in the state of Idaho in the United States. About long, it is the lowermost major tributary to the Clearwater River, a tributary of the Snake River that is in turn a tributary of the Columbia River. Once surrounded by arid grasslands of the Columbia Plateau adjacent to the western foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the Potlatch today is used mainly for agriculture and irrigation purposes.
Its name derives from potlatch, a type of ceremony held by the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest; one such tribe lived along the river for hundreds of years before the arrival of settlers. Pioneers settled the watershed and established farms and ranches in the late 19th century. After that, logging eliminated most of the forests within the watershed and the ecology of the river is still in the process of recovery. Fishing, hiking and camping are popular recreational activities on the river; 14 percent the watershed lies on public lands. Before logging and agriculture, many varieties of riparian and forest plants once populated the catchment, and several species of fish still swim the river and its tributaries.
Course and drainage
The Hoodoo Mountains are the source of the Potlatch River. The Potlatch's course traces a southwesterly line across the eastern Columbia Plateau in the arid Rocky Mountain foothills. Two forks form the river's headwaters in the southern part of the Idaho Panhandle. The West Fork drains part of Latah County and the East Fork is in Clearwater County. These two forks combine near Helmer, and soon the river descends into a canyon that continues all the way to the mouth. While in the canyon, it receives Pine, Big Bear, Middle Potlatch and Little Potlatch Creeks from the north, and Boulder and Cedar Creeks from the south. Idaho State Highway 3 follows part of the lower canyon, and the town of Juliaetta is located at the Middle Potlatch Creek confluence. The river merges with the Clearwater at the elevation of between the towns of Myrtle and Spalding. Its average discharge at the mouth, according to a USGS stream gauge, is . A peak flow of was recorded there in 2006. The river reaches its highest peaks in the winter and early spring, while it reduces to a trickle by summer and autumn. The river mainly flows over and through coarse Columbia River basalts that comprise the Columbia Plateau, similar in geology to the Palouse River farther west.
History
Native Americans of the Nez Perce tribe have lived along the Potlatch River for hundreds of years. The Potlatch River area was once a broad sweep of dry grassland bordered by forested mountains, on the eastern edge of the arid Columbia Plateau. Because of its location just southwest of the foothills of the Rockies, the Potlatch River receives much more rainfall than watersheds just to the west, such as the Palouse and Tucannon Rivers. In 1805 and again in 1806, the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed the mouth of the Potlatch River while traveling down the Clearwater River. They referred to it as "a large creek" and named it Colter's Creek, in honor of John Colter, a member of the expedition. It is not known if they were the first whites to see the river. The modern name of the river was adopted in 1897.
The native environment stayed relatively intact until settlers began to arrive in western Idaho in great numbers in the 1870s, and miners also were attracted by a gold strike at nearby Orofino, on the banks of the Clearwater River. Many of these emigrants set up dryland farms and ranches in the prairies surrounding the Potlatch River. Soil conditions generally improve as one travels southwards through the watershed, but there was a major drawback to growing crops in the southern part of the basin: the inaccessibility of water. Already scarce in the arid Potlatch River drainage, the river's water was hard to reach because of the steep canyon it passes through in most of its lower course. Farmers were restricted to growing crops that did not require irrigation, and many of the lands that did not have access to abundant-enough water were relegated to pasture or hay producing status.
At first, the forests of the watershed were not significantly affected, but after logging operations sprung up near the start of the 20th century, most of the virgin timber in the watershed was cleared. The first sawmills were built to provide lumber for local uses, such as building houses and barns. Soon, however, the Washington, Idaho and Montana Railway extended its tracks into the area, allowing lumber to be exported out of the basin. Logging turned out to be a very profitable industry but had a lasting negative effect on the ecology of the Potlatch River watershed.