Poplar River is a tributary of the Missouri River , approximately 167 miles (269 km) long in Saskatchewan in Canada and Montana in the United States . The river is composed of three main forks – West, Middle, and East Poplar Rivers – that have their source in the Wood Mountain Hills of the Missouri Coteau . Along the river's Middle Fork in Saskatchewan, there is a coal-fired power station . There are also dams built along the river's forks.
19-698: Along with the Milk River and Big Muddy Creek , it is one of three waterways in Canada that drain into the Gulf of Mexico . Poplar River and its main forks of West, Middle, and East Poplar Rivers begin in the Wood Mountain Hills in Saskatchewan. West Poplar River rises near Killdeer, Saskatchewan , and flows south-east, into north-eastern Montana, past Richland and across Daniels County . On
38-521: A tablespoon full of milk. from the colour of its water we called it Milk river. This appearance results from clays and silts suspended in its waters. These fine-grained sediments result from the erosion of soft clay-rich rocks along the Milk River basin in southern Alberta, such as the Foremost , Oldman and Dinosaur Park formations . At the time of Lewis's exploration, the Milk River drainage
57-686: Is a tributary of the Missouri River , 729 miles (1,173 km) long, in the U.S. state of Montana and the Canadian province of Alberta . Rising in the Rocky Mountains , the river drains a sparsely populated, semi-arid watershed of 23,800 square miles (62,000 km ), ending just east of Fort Peck, Montana . It is formed in Glacier County in northwestern Montana, 21 miles (34 km) north of Browning, Montana , by
76-722: Is joined by the North Fork of the Milk River , from there It flows past the town of Milk River and Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park , then turns southeast into Montana, running east along the north side of the Sweetgrass Hills , turning south, passing through the Fresno Dam , then east past Havre and along the north side of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation . Near Malta , it turns north, then southeast, flowing past Glasgow and joining
95-422: The chestnut-collared longspur . The area also supports pronghorns , western hognose snakes , bull snakes , prairie rattlesnakes , and northern leopard frogs . Sweetgrass Hills The Sweet Grass Hills ( Blackfoot : kátoyissiksi , Cheyenne : vé'ho'ôhtsévóse , Kalispel-Pend d'Oreille : ččaɫalqn , "three peaks" ) are a small group of low mountains rising more than 3,000 feet (910 m) above
114-505: The island ranges that dot the central third portion of the state of Montana . These island ranges, completely surrounded by the 'sea' of plains and not geographically (or often geologically) part of the Rocky Mountains to the west, are "biological hotspots", containing more species than the prairie below. The hills were formed in the early Paleogene period, and geologically are known as stocks - intrusive igneous rock forced up from below and solidified. Because of uplift and erosion,
133-647: The Lost River Valley to the northeast, the Milk River in the middle, and the Kennedy Coulee to the southeast. The landscape consists of native grasslands, riparian cottonwood groves, badlands , coulees , cliffs, sand dunes, and rocky outcrops. Birds in the area include the mountain plover , burrowing owl , sage grouse , loggerhead shrike , Sprague's pipit , long-billed curlew , ferruginous hawk , prairie falcon , willet , marbled godwit , lark bunting , Baird's sparrow , McCown's longspur , and
152-708: The Missouri in Valley County, Montana , 5 miles (8 km) downstream from Fort Peck Dam . The watershed of the river extends into the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan and the US state of Montana. The watershed of the river covers an area of 61,642 km (23,800 sq mi). Of this 6,500 km (2,510 sq mi) lies in Alberta, 14,942 km (5,769 sq mi) in Saskatchewan and
171-869: The Saskatchewan side of the West Poplar River in the RM of Old Post No. 43 , there is the West Poplar Dam ( 49°11′26″N 106°26′29″W / 49.1906°N 106.4415°W / 49.1906; -106.4415 ). It is 9.9 m (32 ft) high, was built in 1957, and is owned and operated by the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency . It impounds the 1,196 dam (970 acre⋅ft) Devils Lake reservoir . Poplar River (Middle fork) rises north-west of Rockglen, Saskatchewan , and flows south-east, into north-eastern Montana, and passes west of Scobey . The two forks unite in
190-540: The West, near Glacier National Park and Browning, Montana. Visibility may vary depending on local air temperatures or heat domes that may increase or decrease the apparent height of the features. Other named peaks in the small group are Gold Butte (6,512 ft [1,985 m]), East Butte (with two peaks, the taller of which is Mount Brown at 6,958 ft [2,121 m]), and Mount Lebanon (5,807 ft [1,770 m]). The Sweet Grass Hills are an example of
209-543: The border, is Poplar River Power Station , which is a coal-fired station owned by SaskPower . Morrison Dam was built along the river in 1977 to provide cooling water for the station. Girard Creek, which originates at Fife Lake , and East Poplar River are the primary inflows for the Morrison Dam Reservoir. The Poplar River has also been known as: Lost Child Creek and Middle Fork Poplar River. Milk River (Alberta%E2%80%93Montana) Milk River
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#1732771993097228-615: The confluence of its South and Middle forks. The 30-mile (48 km) long South Fork and 20-mile (32 km) long Middle Fork both rise in the Rocky Mountains just east of Glacier National Park , in the Blackfeet Indian Reservation . Much of the water in the North Fork is diverted from the St. Mary River through a canal and inverted siphon . The main stream flows east-northeast into southern Alberta, where it
247-535: The hills' slopes. Goldbutte 7 N is a weather station 5.5 miles (8.9km) northeast of West Butte (Montana) . The Sweet Grass Hills are a sacred site of the Blackfoot aboriginal people who live on both sides of the 49th parallel north which forms the Canada–United States border . The Hills were the site of a battle between Native people and wolfers in 1872. The Sweet Grass Hills Treaty of 1887
266-602: The northern part of Fort Peck Indian Reservation . The combined river flows south-east, then south-southwest, and joins the Missouri River near Poplar . The East Poplar River begins south of Willow Bunch, Saskatchewan , and flows south out of the hills and meets the Poplar River in Montana, upstream from where the West Poplar River meets it. Along the course of the East Poplar River, on the Canadian side of
285-481: The overlying rock formations have disappeared. The upper slopes of the hills have not been glaciated and would have stood above the ice sheet that covered the area during the last ice age . Since the Sweet Grass Hills are at a higher elevation than the surrounding prairie, temperatures are cooler and precipitation is higher. Forested areas, consisting mainly of Douglas fir , are therefore able to grow on
304-599: The remaining in Montana. The area in Alberta and Saskatchewan is one of the only parts of the Mississippi River watershed that extends into Canada. The Milk River was given its name by Captain Meriwether Lewis , of the Lewis and Clark Expedition , who described the river in his journal: The water of this river possesses a peculiar whiteness, being about the colour of a cup of tea with the admixture of
323-589: The surrounding plains southwest of Whitlash, Montana , in Liberty and Toole County, Montana . The tallest point in the hills is West Butte at 6,983 feet (2,128 m). Quite prominent in the local area, they are clearly visible from US Highway 2 to the south, I-15 , and can sometimes be seen as far North as the Crowsnest Highway ( Highway 3 ) near Medicine Hat in Alberta as well as from
342-582: Was authorized in 1905. It provides drinking water to 14,000 municipal users and irrigation to 120,000 acres (49,000 ha) of ranchland along Montana’s Hi-Line region. In 1908, the waters of the Milk River were the subject of a United States Supreme Court case clarifying the water rights of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. This precedent setting ruling for Indian reservations is known as Winters v. United States . The Milk River area consists of three drainage basins –
361-584: Was legally part of the United States as a component of the Louisiana Purchase . However, in 1818 U.S. negotiators swapped a portion of the Milk River watershed that lay north of 49° north latitude, receiving in exchange for a parcel of Red River of the North drainage that had previously been part of British North America . The project to take water from St. Mary River into the north fork
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