FLATHEAD RIVER

river rising in the MacDonald Range in southeastern British Columbia, Can., and flowing south for 240 miles (385 km) across the CanadaUnited States boundary into Montana. After passing between the Whitefish Range (west) and Glacier National Park and the Lewis Range (east), it enters Flathead Lake and emerges from the lake to join the Clark Fork near Paradise, Mont. Its chief tributaries are the Middle Fork, which rises near the Continental Divide and flows 85 miles (137 km) northwest to join the main stream north of Coram; and the South Fork, which flows 80 miles (129 km) north-northwest from the Flathead National Forest past the Flathead Range to join the main stream via the Hungry Horse Dam and Reservoir. The Flathead Valley is a resort region with diversified farming and fruit growing, lumbering, and mining.