Hi!  We're going to tell you about the Bitterroot River .  You can find 
this river in Western Montana.  It flows from just south of Darby, Montana 
to Missoula, Montana.  The river gets wider as it goes northward,  because 
many creeks from the Bitterroot and Sapphire Mountain ranges flow into it.  
It is very clear with only a few murky parts and is a great place to go 
fishing.  The river has an abundant supply of fish.  Algae litters the rocks 
around the river.  There are lagoons blocked off by dead logs.  The river 
bottoms are a great place to find animals.  If you go hiking around the 
river like we did, you might see some neat birds, plants, landforms 
and insects. 

Driving along the Bitterroot River you will see trees rocking in the wind.  
When you look around you will see silent, snowy, giant mountains. You 
will also find fields of wheat bending gracefully in the breeze. In the 
middle of some parts of the river there are rock islands, circular, grayish 
and still. If you get out of your car you might see clear, sparkly ponds. 
As you walk along the river you will probably see snakegrass  gently 
swaying in the wind.

	
On the shoreline of the Bitterroot River there are rocks that are all 
different shapes.  You might see children skipping rocks. There are bugs 
like spiders and beetles. Many of them live under small, whitish, grayish 
rocks. You will probably see driftwood, some long, some  short, and some 
twisted. Most of the year there are leaves on the shoreline.  They come in 
many colors such as yellow, orange, red, green, and brown.  In the fall 
they cover the ground and leave the trees leafless. There is also sand 
on some shorelines, but most shorelines are rocky.        

There are quite a few land forms throughout the river.  A beaver dam is 
one of them.  It slows down the water to make it more compatible for the 
beavers.  The dam provides a nice habitat  for many animals. You can 
see beaver chewing wood and working on a  dam.

Steep inclined cliffs are a common sight.  They are composed of  time 
you go there you can see a muskrat playing in the slow moving side 
channels.  Many people go to the river to fish.  The most common fish 
on the river is the rainbow trout,  but there are many kinds of fish such 
as  brown trout,  brook trout and many more.

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