The largest natural lake west of the Mississippi.
Flathead Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River in the continental United States — 197 square miles and up to 370 feet deep, a remnant of glacial Lake Missoula left behind as the ice retreated roughly 12,000 years ago.
Flathead Lake spans 197 square miles in northwest Montana, a remnant of glacial Lake Missoula formed as ice-age glaciers dammed the Flathead River and retreated roughly 12,000 years ago — the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River in the continental United States, up to 370 feet deep. The Flathead Indian Reservation borders its southern half. Bigfork, on the north shore, anchors Marina Cay Resort's dockside marina and The Raven's waterfront dining in Woods Bay; Polson, at the south end, carries Flathead Boat Company's rental fleet, the grocery run, and the hospital. Between them sits Wild Horse Island State Park, the lake's largest island and accessible only by boat — 2,160 acres of grassland and ponderosa pine forest home to wild bighorn sheep and a small band of feral horses.
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