Coeur d'Alene Basin Video Tour

The Coeur d’Alene Basin encompasses approximately 3,700 square miles, encompassing much off Kootenai, Shoshone, and Benewah Counties, The Coeur d’Alene Reservation, and small portions of Bonner and Latah Counties in the Panhandle of Idaho. The North Fork Coeur d’Alene River, South Fork Coeur d’Alene River, Lower Coeur d’Alene River; The St. Maries and St. Joe Rivers; and other smaller tributaries around the lake's shoreline drain into Coeur d’Alene Lake. The outlet of the lake is the Spokane River, which flows west into Washington, eventually joining the Columbia River.  The Upper Spokane River watershed overlies the Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer that provides drinking water to over a half million people in northern Idaho and Eastern Washington.

The South Fork Coeur d’Alene River has a long history of mining that began in the late 1800s with the discovery of gold and silver. Historic mining activities deposited millions of tons of metals-contaminated sediment to the South Fork, which have migrated downstream to the Lower Coeur d’Alene River, into Coeur d’Alene Lake and the Spokane River. High runoff events (such as spring snowmelt) continue to flush contaminated sediments downstream each year. Cleanup activities continue to address these contaminated sediments and water.