Kootenay

Kootenay or Kootenai, river in western North America, 655 km (407 mi) long. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of southeastern British Columbia and flows south, through Kootenay National Park and into northwestern Montana. It then turns northwest, flowing across northern Idaho before reentering British Columbia, where it soon widens to form Kootenay Lake. The river exits from the western side of the lake and in its final leg flows southwest to join the Columbia River at Castlegar, British Columbia. Hydroelectric plants are on the Kootenay in Montana and British Columbia. The name is derived from an aboriginal word meaning water people. It is spelled Kootenai in the United States.