Frenchman River

Frenchman River
Frenchman River Valley
The Milk River highlighted
Location of the mouth in Montana
Frenchman River (North America)
Location
Countries
  • Canada
  • United States
Physical characteristics
SourceCypress Lake
  locationCypress Hills
  coordinates49°28′35″N 109°23′43″W / 49.47641°N 109.39518°W / 49.47641; -109.39518 (Frenchman River headwaters)
  elevation975 meters (3,199 ft)
MouthMilk River
  location
Saco, Montana
  coordinates
48°31′02″N 107°15′05″W / 48.517351°N 107.251295°W / 48.517351; -107.251295 (Frenchman River mouth)
  elevation
665 meters (2,182 ft)
Length341 kilometers (212 mi)
Basin features
River systemMissouri River

The Frenchman River, (Gros Ventre: níhʔɔɔtóóúníícááh, lit.'white person river'), also known locally as the Whitemud River, is a river in Saskatchewan, Canada and Montana, United States. It is a tributary of the Milk River, itself a tributary of the Missouri and, in turn, part of the Mississippi River watershed, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico.

The river is approximately 341 kilometers (212 mi) long.

The name's origin is uncertain although both Métis and francophone settlers inhabited its banks at the turn of the 20th century. The Frenchman Formation, a stratigraphical unit of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, was named for the river.