Thompson Falls

History

Thompson Falls was named after British explorer, geographer and fur trader David Thompson, who founded a North West Company fur trading post called Saleesh House in 1809. The community is located next to natural waterfalls on the Clark Fork river. The settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute in 1846, ended joint occupancy with Britain and established the border with British North America and made the region firmly American. The arrival of the railroad in 1881 brought activity to the area. Two years later, when the gold rush hit nearby Cœur d'Alene, the town grew to accommodate the men going over the Murray Trail to the mines. In 1885 John Russell bought and plotted the town site. Thompson Falls was established in 1910. The Thompson Falls Dam, in operation since 1915, was constructed atop the original falls.

Geography

Thompson Falls is located in the Clark Fork Valley at an elevation of . The Clark Fork River flows on the southern side of town. It is next to the Cabinet Mountains. Thompson Falls State Park is northwest of town. It offers a boat launch, campsites, and nature trails. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. An amphibian, the rough-skinned newt, has a population at Thompson Falls which is noncontiguous with the remainder of the Western US population of the species. In 2010, a fish ladder was completed consisting of 48 pools, each one foot higher than the last, enabling native fish, including bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) to pass the 913-foot Thompson Falls Dam for the first time in nearly a century. Under the Köppen climate classification, depending on the variant used, Thompson Falls has either an oceanic climate (Cfb) or a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb). Winters are among the very warmest in the state, though the area lacks the very warm chinook winds that blow east of the Rockies. The climate is similar to that of nearby Trout Creek.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  307
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  302
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  259
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  246
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  240
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  234
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  233
• Bald Eagle

  Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  225

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2025-11-21
  20 km N of Heron, Montana
• M 2.5 — 2025-02-13
  10 km SSW of East Hope, Idaho
• M 2.6 — 2025-02-13
  7 km W of Clark Fork, Idaho
• M 3.3 — 2025-02-11
  2 km NNW of Mullan, Idaho
• M 2.6 — 2023-09-17
  4 km NW of Happys Inn, Montana
• M 2.5 — 2023-03-09
  18 km WNW of Dixon, Montana