Cut Bank Creek
Encyclopedia
Cut Bank Creek is a tributary of the Marias River
in the Missouri river
basin watershed, approximately 75 mi (123 km) long, in northwestern Montana
in the United States, which having deeply eroded steep cliff banks eponymously gives name to the cut bank formal terrain term of geological science
.
It rises in the Rocky Mountains
in Glacier National Park at the continental divide
and flows ENE onto the foothills and plains of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation
, then southeast, past Cut Bank, Montana
where it forms a spectacular scenic gorge 150 feet (45.7 m) deep spanned by an elevated railway bridge just a mile from the town's Amtrak rail transport system passenger station
and BNSF railway freight yards. The river and cliff there are prototypical giving rise to the eponymous formally named "cut bank" geographic terrain feature archetype.
In southeastern Glacier County
, approximately 12 mi (19 km) southeast of Cut Bank, it joins the Two Medicine River
to form the Marias River
.
Marias River
The Marias River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 210 mi long, in the U.S. state of Montana. It is formed in the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Glacier County, in northwestern Montana, by the confluence of the Cut Bank Creek and the Two Medicine River...
in the Missouri river
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
basin watershed, approximately 75 mi (123 km) long, in northwestern Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
in the United States, which having deeply eroded steep cliff banks eponymously gives name to the cut bank formal terrain term of geological science
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
.
It rises in the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
in Glacier National Park at the continental divide
Continental divide
A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not connected to the open sea...
and flows ENE onto the foothills and plains of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation
Blackfeet Indian Reservation
The Blackfeet Indian Reservation or Blackfeet Nation is an Indian reservation of the Blackfeet tribe in Montana in the United States. It is located east of Glacier National Park and borders Canada to the north. Cut Bank Creek and Birch Creek make up part of its eastern and southern borders...
, then southeast, past Cut Bank, Montana
Cut Bank, Montana
Cut Bank is a city in and the county seat of Glacier County, Montana, United States located just east-south-east of the "cut bank" geographical feature which formed canyon-like along the eponymously named Cut Bank Creek river...
where it forms a spectacular scenic gorge 150 feet (45.7 m) deep spanned by an elevated railway bridge just a mile from the town's Amtrak rail transport system passenger station
Cut Bank (Amtrak station)
Cut Bank, Montana is a station stop for the Amtrak Empire Builder in Cut Bank, Montana and an important regional railway freight yard for the BNSF Railway—which operates no less than three grain collection elevators in the yard collecting grains from the western great plains region...
and BNSF railway freight yards. The river and cliff there are prototypical giving rise to the eponymous formally named "cut bank" geographic terrain feature archetype.
In southeastern Glacier County
Glacier County, Montana
-National protected areas:* Glacier National Park * Lewis and Clark National Forest -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 13,247 people, 4,304 households, and 3,245 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 people per square mile . There were 5,243 housing units...
, approximately 12 mi (19 km) southeast of Cut Bank, it joins the Two Medicine River
Two Medicine River
The Two Medicine River is a tributary of the Marias River, approximately 60 mi long, in northwestern Montana in the United States....
to form the Marias River
Marias River
The Marias River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 210 mi long, in the U.S. state of Montana. It is formed in the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Glacier County, in northwestern Montana, by the confluence of the Cut Bank Creek and the Two Medicine River...
.