The Kootenay rises on the northeast slopes of the Beaverfoot Range of southeastern British Columbia, and flows initially southeast through the valleys of Kootenay National Park.
At the small town of Canal Flats, British Columbia it passes within 2km of Columbia Lake, the headwaters of the Columbia River, as it merges into the Rocky Mountain Trench and the eastern foothills of the Selkirk Mountains [REF].