Madison River

 

river, 183 mi (295 km) long, rising in Yellowstone National Park, NW Wyo., and flowing W then N through SW Montana to join the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers at the Three Forks of the Missouri. It is impounded by Hebgen Dam in its upper course and by Madison Dam, a power facility, at midcourse. The river is used for irrigation. Earthquake Lake was formed in 1959.

The Madison River is a headwater tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 183 miles (295 km) long, in the U.S. states of Wyoming and Montana. Its confluence with the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers near Three Forks, Montana form the Missouri River.

The Madison rises in Park County in northwestern Wyoming at the confluence of the Firehole and Gibbon Rivers, a location known as Madison Junction in Yellowstone National Park. It flows west then north through the mountains of southwestern Montana to join the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers at Three Forks. The Missouri River Headwaters State Park is located on the Madison at Three Forks.^[1] In its upper reaches in Gallatin County, Montana, the Hebgen Dam forms Hebgen Lake. In its middle reaches in Madison County, Montana, the Madison Dam forms Ennis Lake and provides hydroelectric power. In 1959, an earthquake formed Quake Lake just downstream from Hebgen Dam.

The river was named by Lewis and Clark in July 1805, for US Secretary of State James Madison.

Angling The Madison

The Madison River from Madison Junction in Yellowstone to Three Forks, Montana is a fly-fishing mecca for serious anglers.

See also

• List of Wyoming rivers
• List of Montana rivers

References

• Back, Howard (1938). The Waters of the Yellowstone with Rod and Fly. New York: Dodd & Mead. 

• Parks, Richard (1998). Fishing Yellowstone National Park. Helena, MT: Falcon Press. ISBN 1560446250. 

• Brooks, Charles E. (1979). The Living River-A Fisherman's Intimate Profile of the Madison River Watershed--Its History, Ecology, Lore and Angling Opportunities. Garden City, NJ: Nick Lyons Books. ISBN 0385156553. 

• Mathews, Craig; Molinero, Clayton (1997). The Yellowstone Fly-Fishing Guide-A authoritative guide to the waters of Yellowstone National Park. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press. ISBN 155821545X. 

• Brooks, Charles E. (1984). Fishing Yellowstone Waters. Clinton, NJ: New Win Publishing Inc.. ISBN 0832903531. 

• Holt, John (1996). Montana Fly-Fishing Guide-East. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press. ISBN 1585745294. 

• Holt, John (1993). River Journal - Madison. Frank Amato Publications. ISBN 1878175270. 

External links

• Madison River Fishing Report

Notes

1. ^ Montana Fish and Wildlife and Parks

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