Bear River (Great Salt Lake)

Bear River
River
Bear River Canyon in Utah c. 1869
Country	United States
States	Utah, Idaho, Wyoming
Source	Confluence of Hayden Fork and Stillwater Fork
- location	Uinta Mountains, Summit County, Utah
- elevation	8,510 ft (2,594 m)
- coordinates	40°52′2″N 110°50′9″W / 40.86722°N 110.83583°W / 40.86722; -110.83583
Mouth
- location	Great Salt Lake, Box Elder County, Utah
- elevation	4,211 ft (1,284 m)
- coordinates	41°27′30″N 112°17′25″W / 41.45833°N 112.29028°W / 41.45833; -112.29028Coordinates: 41°27′30″N 112°17′25″W / 41.45833°N 112.29028°W / 41.45833; -112.29028
Length	350 mi (563 km)
Basin	7,026 sq mi (18,197 km2)
Discharge	for Corinne, Utah, 4 miles (6.4 km) from the mouth
- average	2,410 cu ft/s (68 m3/s)
- max	10,400 cu ft/s (294 m3/s)
- min	25 cu ft/s (1 m3/s)
Map of the Bear River watershed.

The Bear River is the largest tributary of the Great Salt Lake, draining a mountainous area and farming valleys northeast of the lake and southeast of the Snake River Plain. It flows through southwestern Wyoming, southeastern Idaho, and northern Utah, in the United States. Approximately 350 miles (560 km) long it is the largest river in North America that does not ultimately reach the sea.

The course of the river essentially makes a large inverted U around the north end of the Wasatch Range. It rises in northeastern Utah in several short forks on the north side of the high Uinta Mountains in southern Summit County. The main stem Bear River begins at the confluence of two tributaries, Hayden Fork and Stillwater Fork. The Hayden Fork originates north of Hayden Pass, just west of Hayden Peak. The Stillwater Fork originates in Middle Basin, a plateau with an elevation of about 10,000 feet (3,000 m) and surrounded by the high peaks of Mount Agassiz, Hayden Peak, and Spread Eagle Peak. One of the Stillwater Fork's tributaries is called Main Fork, which originates in another high–altitude basin called Hell Hole.

From its source the Bear River flows north cutting across the southwest corner of Wyoming passing through Evanston then weaving along the Utah-Wyoming state line as it flows north. It turns northwest into Bear Lake County, Idaho and flows through the Bear Lake Valley in Idaho, past Montpelier where it receives the short Bear Lake Outlet Canal that drains Bear Lake, which straddles the Idaho-Utah border. At Soda Springs, near the north end of the Wasatch Range, the Bear River turns abruptly south, flowing past Preston in the broad Cache Valley that extends north from Logan, Utah. It re-enters northern Utah, meandering south past Cornish and Newton. It is impounded to form the Cutler Reservoir, where it receives the Little Bear River from the south. From the west end of Cutler Reservoir it flows south through the Bear River Valley of Utah past Bear River City. It receives the Malad River from the north just before emptying into the mud flats of a broad bay on the east side of the Great Salt Lake, approximately 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Brigham City.