Spokane River - Description

Description

The Spokane River drains the northern part of Lake Coeur d'Alene in the Idaho Panhandle, emptying into the Columbia River at Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, approximately 180 km downstream.

From Lake Coeur d'Alene, the Spokane River traverses the Rathdrum Prairie until reaching Post Falls, Idaho where it passes over a dam, and a natural 40-foot waterfall. Continuing westward, it later passes over 5 more dams, four of which are located in the city of Spokane. In Spokane, it flows over the Spokane Falls, which are located in the heart of Downtown Spokane, approximately one third of the way down the rivers length. About a mile later, the river receives Latah Creek from the southeast. Soon afterwards, it is met from the northeast by the Little Spokane River, on the western edge of the city of Spokane. It flows in a zigzag course along the southern edge of the Selkirk Mountains, forming the southern boundary of the Spokane Indian Reservation, where it is impounded by the Long Lake Dam to form Long Lake, a 15 mi (24 km) reservoir. It joins Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake on the Columbia from the east at Miles. The site of historic Fort Spokane is located at the mouth of the river on the Columbia.

The Spokane River's entire drainage basin is about 6,240 square miles (16,200 km2) large, of which 3,840 square miles (9,900 km2) are above Post Falls Dam at the outlet of Coeur d'Alene Lake. Its mean annual discharge is 7,946 cubic feet per second (225 m3/s).