Wender·Vista
Flathead River below Kerr Dam
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileMontana
in western Montana, just below Polson

Flathead River below Kerr Dam

— — the green a glacier-fed river keeps.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Below the dam the Flathead drops into a basalt canyon and goes loud. The water comes out of Flathead Lake the same glacial green it carried down from the Mission Range, and the canyon walls keep it cold all summer. Rafters put in at the foot of the spillway; everyone else watches from the bridge.

from the studio
Flathead River below Kerr Dam
— bring it home

Flathead River below Kerr Dam, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Flathead River below Kerr Dam

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The river runs out of Flathead Lake at Polson and drops nearly two hundred feet through a basalt canyon over the next several miles. The dam at the head of the canyon, completed in 1938 as Kerr Dam and renamed Sɛliš Ksanka Qlispe' Dam in 2015 when the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes took ownership, made CSKT the first tribal nation to own a major hydroelectric project in the United States. The river is the largest tributary of the Clark Fork.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the water

The water carries the glacial-meltwater color it inherits from the Mission and Swan ranges through Flathead Lake. Below the dam the gradient steepens and the river runs Class III through Buffalo Rapids in late spring, easing to Class II by midsummer as flows drop. The Flathead's three forks drain more than eight thousand square miles of northwestern Montana, including most of Glacier National Park, before pooling in the lake and being released here at a near-constant cold temperature.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the visit

The canyon is reached from US 93 at Polson, where a pull-off on the old Kerr Dam Road gives a view down into the gorge. The dam itself is not open to the public — it sits on Flathead Reservation land — but the overlook is. Rafting trips put in just below the spillway from May through September; outfitters in Polson and Pablo run the canyon as a half-day. The lake outflow keeps the water cold even in August.

— informed by CSKT
— where
United States · Lake County, Montana
— within
Flathead Indian Reservation
— elevation
870 m · 2,854 ft
— position
47.6776° N · 114.2367° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
3 km N
Flathead Lake
lake
6 km NE
Polson
town
30 km E
Mission Mountains
mountain range
N
Flathead River below Kerr Dam
Flathead Lake
Polson
Mission Mountains
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Flathead River below Kerr Dam — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes acquired the dam in 2015 and renamed it Sɛliš Ksanka Qlispe' Dam, becoming the first tribal nation to own a major hydroelectric facility in the United States.

The concrete arch dam stands about 205 feet above the streambed at the head of the canyon, with the Flathead River dropping another two hundred feet through basalt over the miles below.

Outfitters in Polson and Pablo run the canyon from May through September. Buffalo Rapids reaches Class III in late spring, easing as summer flows drop and the run becomes a half-day trip.

The old Kerr Dam Road, off US 93 south of Polson, ends at an overlook that looks down into the canyon and across to the dam. The walk from the parking area is short.

The Flathead system holds native bull trout and westslope cutthroat alongside introduced lake trout. The canyon below the dam is cold year-round and tightly regulated; check current rules with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

— about the piece in your home

People who grew up around Polson or the reservation tend to recognize the canyon green right away. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note travels well.

The cool greens and basalt grays sit easily in mountain-modern rooms, in Pacific Northwest palettes, and in spaces leaning toward biophilic with stone, leather, and unfinished wood.

The piece fits the current direction in alpine modern — saturated water tones against natural stone and matte black hardware — better than the older rustic-cabin look it has largely replaced.

A single Large reads from across the room. For a wider wall, a four-tile or nine-tile Mural carries the canyon at scale and gives the water room to move.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for splash-zone walls and backsplashes; the color lives in the surface and stays put through daily wear.

A soft microfiber cloth with plain water is all it needs. Avoid abrasive pads and ammonia-based cleaners; nothing harsher than what you would use on a phone screen.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original work from our studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, hand-finished in-house and slowly infused into the ceramic surface beneath a thin glossy finish.

— if this one stayed with you

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