Coeur d'Alene

River in the Panhandle of northern Idaho, USA, flowing into the Coeur d'Alene Lake; length 180 km/110 mi. It rises in the Coeur d'Alene Mountains, along the Montana border, southeast of Lake Pend Oreille, and flows south-southeast through the former Coeur d'Alene National Forest, now a unit of the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, then turns west-southwest to Coeur d'Alene Lake. Its valley, especially around Kellogg, is a famous mining centre. Coeur d'Alene Lake, also fed by the St Joe River, extends north-south for some 38 km/24 mi, and is 1-5 km/1-3 mi wide. A noted beauty spot, it is the source of the Spokane River, which flows west into Washington.

At the southern end of the lake, along the Washington state line, is the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation (1549 sq km/598 sq mi; population (1990 est) 5800), home to the Salishan Skitswish, known as the Coeur d'Alene (‘awl-heart’) for their hard bargaining.