PRIEST RIVER

city, Bonner county, northwestern Idaho, U.S., at the junction of the Priest and Pend Oreille rivers. It is a gateway to a spectacular water and forested mountain domain focusing on Priest Lake and Upper Priest Lake (north) and the Kaniksu and Coeur d'Alene national forests in the Idaho panhandle. The area was explored in the 1840s by a Jesuit, Father Pierre Jean De Smet, and both the river and lake were named for the priest. The village was first settled in 1889 and developed after the railroad reached it in 1891. Priest Lake, with a 63-mile (101-kilometre) shoreline and several recreational islands, is known for its giant-size trout (Mackinaw and Dolly Varden). By its shores is the Roosevelt Grove of Ancient Cedars with 800-year-old trees, some more than 150 feet (45 m) high. The annual (February) Pacific Northwest Sled Dog Championship Races are held at Priest River Airport. Pop. (1986 est.) 1,840.