| RAVALLI COUNTY,
created by the Montana Legislature on March 3, 1893, is
located in western Montana. It was named after Father
Antony Ravalli, born May 6, 1812 in Ferrara, Italy, who
came here in 1845. Ravalli County is known as the
Bitterroot Valley. The valley was named for a small pink
flower, the Bitterroot, which is the state flower of
Montana. The flower received its name from the Indians
who harvested its starchy roots as part of their diet.
The valley was a travel route for several Indian tribes
as they traveled to the eastern plains to hunt bison,
but only the Salish-speaking people (Flathead Indians)
considered the valley their home. The Bitterroot Valley is located on the western edge of Montana, in a protected north/south mountain valley located between two mountain ranges, the Sapphire Mountain range on the east and the Bitterroot National Forest on the west. The elevation ranges from 3,200 feet at the north end of the valley to 10,157 feet on Trapper Peak in the mountains at the south end of the valley. The elevation at the Hamilton airport is 3,638 feet and the Stevensville airport elevation is 3,620 feet. The Bitterroot Valley is 96 miles long, 25 miles wide and is 2,394 square miles of land area. |
