The Gallatin River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 120 mi (193 km long), in the U.S. states of Wyoming and Montana. It is one of three rivers, along with the Jefferson and Madison, that converge near Three Forks, Montana, to form the Missouri. It rises in the northwest corner of Yellowstone National Park, in northwestern Wyoming, in the Gallatin Range of the Rocky Mountains. It flows northwest through Gallatin National Forest, past Big Sky, Montana, and joins the Jefferson and Madison approximately 30 mi (48 km) northwest of Bozeman. The river was named for Albert Gallatin, President Thomas Jefferson's secretary of the treasury at the time of the river's discovery. The Gallatin River is one of the best whitewater runs in the Yellowstone-Teton Area. In June, when the snowmelt is released from the mountains, the river has a class IV section called the "Mad Mile." This section is over a mile long and contains continuous stretches of challenging whitewater. Rafting companies offer trips on this river - on the Mad Mile Section as well as other, less challenging sections. The Gallatin River is an amazingly scenic river - winding through high alpine meadows, dropping into the rocky Gallatin Canyon, and flowing out into the Gallatin Valley. It is also known for Blue Ribbon Trout Fishing. Parts of the movie A River Runs Through It were filmed on the Gallatin.
See also
External links
- Gallatin River images from the National Park Service
- US Dept. of Agriculture snowmelt runoff of the Gallatin
- Gallatin River Fishing Report
- The Gallatin Valley
