NEW LINK

We've posted a new link in the "Local Links" category -- it shows the water level of the Swan River in Ferndale, just east of Bigfork. This time of year, it's an interesting one to check out, as the rains keep falling, the snow keeps melting out of the mountains, and both of them add to the river levels.

The Swan River near Bigfork, close to where the monitoring station is located (click on photo for larger view)

It's especially interesting to look at, because the Swan River, from that location, feeds directly into the Wild Mile. For those of you who don't know, the Wild Mile is a one-mile-stretch (plus-or-minus) of the Swan River before it empties into Bigfork Bay (where Bear Dance is neatly located).

Now for much of its journey, the Swan River is a gently-flowing river. The "Upper Swan", or southern portion (yes, I know, that sounds backwards, but just go with it), begins in the southern end of the Swan Valley near Seeley Lake. The relatively narrow Swan Valley sits between the steepest portions of the Swan Mountains and the Mission Mountains. These two mountain ranges accumulate large amounts of snow and rain throughout the year, filling up their high alpine lakes and sending the overflow downhill. All those tributaries feed into the Upper Swan River, from both sides, over a 50-mile stretch.


Just south of Bigfork, the Swan Valley begins to narrow, as the north end of the Mission Mountains reaches over towards the Swan Mountains. This narrow bottleneck forms perhaps one of the most under-appreciated lakes in the world (second only to Flathead Lake -- yes, we claim two of the best lakes in the world) -- Swan Lake. Each side is flanked by steep mountain walls, and those mountain walls get closer and closer as the lake is fed by the Upper Swan from the south. Finally the mountains allow the lake to spill slowly out the north end, and the Lower Swan begins its journey out of Swan Lake, heading towards Flathead Lake.


This stretch of the river is even slower and more meandering; a bird's eye view would look a bit like a wet spaghetti noodle that had been dropped from above. The Lower Swan (or northern end -- yep, backwards again) is where the link to the left is measured, and once it gets within a mile of Bigfork, the slow meandering ends. The river meets a spillway, which diverts water into a narrow, man-made canal.


This canal feeds water to the Bigfork Hydroelectric Plant, which has been making electricity for more than 100 years. In fact, this plant was originally built to supply electricity for Kalispell, and the town of Bigfork still has its main street -- Electric Avenue -- named for the electricity it proudly provided so far ahead of its time for such a small town.


Where were we? Oh yes, the Wild Mile! For most of the year, the Lower Swan River only provides enough water to feed the hydroelectric plant, with a small amount leftover to bypass the canal in the original streambed. But for a few months in the springtime, the rains begin to pick up. And all that snow, melting out of the Swan and Mission Mountains, falling out of the alpine lakes, rushing into the Upper Swan, swelling the banks of Swan Lake, spilling into the Lower Swan, past the Swan River measuring station...all that water hits the spillway at a volume several times greater than what is needed by the hydroelectric plant. The massive excess of water becomes a rushing torrent over the spillway, down the final mile towards the bay. The elevation in this stretch drops just over 120 feet, but it isn't a consistent fall. The river bed falls in lurches and leaps, over massive boulders and through deep holes. The results are some of the most challenging Class V rapids in the world, and Bigfork plays host to an internationally-attended competition: The Whitewater Festival.


Usually held on Memorial Day weekend, the Whitewater Festival is the official wake-up of Bigfork out of its winter slumber. Kayakers from all over the world converge to compete in a series of events on the water, then to participate in a series of social events each evening in the village. What makes Whitewater Festival so unique is its accessibility. It is rare for spectators of world-class kayaking to have such easy access, such a short distance from restaurants, shops and hotels. The competitors love Whitewater Festival, but a strong case could be made that the spectators are just as in love with Whitewater Festival.


And that's why it's so interesting to watch the river levels on the Swan.