Kootenai Falls

Kootenai Falls on the Kootenai River in northwestern Montana is the state’s largest undammed waterfall and one of the larger waterfalls in the United States by flow. Rather than plunging straight down, it spreads through a rocky gorge with a long geological history visible in ancient sandstone, shale, ripple marks, and stromatolites. For the Kutenai Tribe, the falls are a sacred place and the center of the world. The site also preserves a history of travel and access, from David Thompson’s early 1800s portage route to the swinging bridge first built during the Great Depression and rebuilt after flood damage and growing visitation.

Montana · United States