Madison River
Headwaters of the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park
The Madison River is a river in the U.S. states of Wyoming and Montana. He belongs to the Missouri - Mississippi River system and is adjacent to the Jefferson River one of the headwaters of the Missouri. The Madison River in 1805 was named by Lewis and Clark, in honor of the then Foreign Minister and later U.S. President James Madison.
The Madison River is 294 km long and arises from the confluence of the Firehole River and Gibbon River to the west of Yellowstone National Park in the state of Wyoming. The coming of Firehole River and the south coming from the east Gibbon River unite north of the Firehole Canyon to the Madison River. From here it flows to the west and still widens within the national park approximately at the border to Montana in Madison Valley. The river at the west entrance to the park is an important breeding area for waterfowl such as various waders and the trumpeter swan.
He is dammed outside the park below from West Yellowstone on Hebgen Dam to Hebgen Lake. Below the reservoir formed after an earthquake in 1959, a natural lake called Earthquake Lake. The Madison River turns around at the outflow to the north and is again dammed the Madison Dam to Lake Ennis in Ennis. The river runs in a northerly direction through the Bear Calf Canyon, which is reported as part of the Lee Metcalf Wilderness, a wilderness area and thus the most severe class of protected natural areas in the United States. The river is also a popular whitewater kayaking area here. Seven kilometers northeast of the town of Three Forks is the Madison River in Missouri Headwaters State Park at the confluence with the Jefferson River to Missouri.
Between Madison and Gallatin River is located in north-south direction, the Madison Range, a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains with the chef Peak ( 3408 m) the highest point. The valley of the Madison River also separates the Gallatin National Forest east of the river from the Beaverhead National Forest west. Both are national forests under management of the U.S. Forest Service. U.S. Highway 287 runs from the output from the Yellowstone National Park to the confluence parallel to the river and from there further to the north.