The Kootenays or Kootenay is a region of southeastern British Columbia. It takes its name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Kutenai First Nations people.
Nelson Bridge in Central Kootenay
Various interpretations of the boundaries of the Kootenays
The Kootenay River or Kootenai River is a major river of the Northwest Plateau in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and northern Montana and Idaho in the United States. It is one of the uppermost major tributaries of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Kootenay River runs 781 kilometres (485 mi) from its headwaters in the Kootenay Ranges of the Canadian Rockies, flowing from British Columbia's East Kootenay region into northwestern Montana, then west into the northernmost Idaho Panhandle and returning to British Columbia in the West Kootenay region, where it joins the Columbia at Castlegar.
The Kootenai River at Libby, Montana
Kootenay River valley in Kootenay National Park
Kootenai group with tepees, circa 1900
Falls of the Kootenay River below Kootenay Lake, ca. 1936