The Pend Oreille (pond-o-ray) River

In late September the colors began to change along the Pend Oreille River. The river begins at the west of Lake Pend Oreille near Sandpoint in Bonner County. Receiving the Priest River from the north it then flows into southern Pend Oreille County in northeastern Washington at Newport. In Washington the Pend Oreille River turns north, flowing along the eastern side of the Selkirk Mountains. It flows roughly parallel to the Idaho border for nearly 50 miles, through the Colville National Forest and Metaline Falls, which is where this photograph was taken. The river crosses the international border into southeastern British Columbia, looping west for about 15 miles and joining the Columbia from the east, approximately two miles north of the Canadian border.