Tongue River (Montana)
| Tongue River | |
| River | |
 |
|
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| States | Wyoming, Montana |
| Source | |
| - location | Big Horn Mountains, Wyoming |
| - coordinates | 44°49′06″N 107°27′20″W / 44.81833°N 107.45556°W |
| Mouth | Yellowstone River |
| - location | Miles City, Montana |
| - coordinates | 46°24′33″N 105°52′00″W / 46.40917°N 105.86667°WCoordinates: 46°24′33″N 105°52′00″W / 46.40917°N 105.86667°W |
| Length | 265 mi (426 km) |
| Basin | 5,397 sq mi (13,978 km2) |
| Discharge | for Miles City, Montana |
| - average | 400 cu ft/s (11 m3/s) |
| - max | 13,300 cu ft/s (377 m3/s) |
| - min | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
 Map of the Yellowstone River watershed with the Tongue River approximately in the center
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The Tongue River is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, approximately 265 mi (426 km) long, in the U.S. states of Wyoming and Montana. The Tongue rises in Wyoming in the Big Horn Mountains, flows through northern Wyoming and southeastern Montana and empties into the Yellowstone River at Miles City, Montana. Most of the course of the river is through the beautiful and varied landscapes of eastern Montana, including the Tongue River Canyon, the Tongue River breaks, the pine hills of southern Montana, and the buttes and grasslands that were formerly the home of vast migratory herds of American bison. The Tongue River watershed encompasses parts of the Cheyenne and Crow Reservations. The Headwaters lie on the Big Horn National Forest, and the watershed encompasses the Ashland Ranger District of the Custer National Forest.
The river's name corresponds to Cheyenne /vetanoveo'he/, where /vetanove/ means "tongue" and /o'he'e/ means "river".
The Tongue River is fed by winter snow pack from the higher elevations of the Big Horn Mountains, early snow runoff of the lower elevations in the drainage basin, and ground water from springs in the drainage basin. The river rises in March and April due to snowmelt in the lower elevations, and again in June as summer weather melts the higher elevation snow pack. The flow of water in the upper river during the summer is generally steady, but in the later months of a dry summer, irrigation will reduce the lower river to a few pools of water connected by a small trickle. The river is generally frozen during the winter months.
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Wikipedia