Red Rock River, Montana
Red Rock River and the Centennial Mountains
Photo courtesy of
Big Sky Fishing.Com
A tributary of the Beaverhead River at the southern headwaters of the Missouri Basin, the Red Rock River threads the remote high and wide country of Montana’s Centennial Valley. A mosaic of ownership includes national forest, the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge (the majority of which is also designated Wilderness), and large, private ranches. Many tributaries contain pure native populations of westslope cutthroat trout, and the lakes harbor the only remaining native lake-rearing/stream-spawning population of the Montana subspecies of arctic grayling in the lower 48. Hydrologic features contributing to this high-elevation basin’s uniqueness include prehistoric diversion from a prior outlet to the east into its current westward course by a natural landslide some five centuries ago, and the large complex of streams, lakes and wetlands fed by large amounts of snowmelt off the Centennials, much of it delivered as groundwater to the valley floor through large alluvial fans at the mountains’ base. Besides its immense aquatic value, the Centennial Valley is world-renowned for its wildlife, big game, and bird richness, and has played a central role in trumpeter swan recovery efforts.
