![]() The river supported species including chinook salmon, coho salmon, and sockeye salmon, as well as steelhead, white sturgeon, and Pacific lamprey. The Snake River was once one of the most important rivers for the spawning of anadromous fish - which are hatched in the headwaters of rivers, live in the ocean for most of their lives, and return to the river to spawn - in the United States. Still, from the 1860s to the 1940s, steamboats traveled on the Snake River. The Columbia River drops 820 meters (2,690 feet) from source to mouth, while the Snake drops over 2,600 meters (8,500 feet) in elevation over a length more than 320 km (200 miles) shorter. Unlike the Columbia River, it was far more difficult for steamboats to navigate on the Snake. The Snake River likely got its name from the first European explorers who misinterpreted the sign made by the Shoshone people who identified themselves in sign language by moving the hand in a swimming motion which appeared to these explorers to be a “snake.” It actually signified that they lived near the river with many fish.īy the middle 19th century, the Oregon Trail, a pioneer trail of which a major portion followed the Snake River, had been established by aspiring settlers and traders. These fish were central to the lives of the people along the Snake below Shoshone Falls. Salmon from the Pacific Ocean spawned by the millions in the river. More than 11,000 years ago, prehistoric Native Americans lived along the Snake. Shoshone Falls marks the historical upper limit of fish migration (including salmon) in the Snake River, and was an important fishing and trading place for Native Americans. Sometimes called the “Niagara of the West,” Shoshone Falls is 65 meters (212 feet) high - 14 m (45 feet) higher than Niagara Falls - and flows over a rim nearly 300 m (1,000 feet) wide. Shoshone Falls is a waterfall on the Snake River in southern Idaho, approximately 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) northeast of the city of Twin Falls. The Snake River Plain was created by a volcanic hotspot which now lies underneath Yellowstone National Park, where the headwaters of the Snake River arise. It is arc shaped with the concave side to the north. The Snake River Plain is a prominent depression across southern Idaho extending 640 kilometers (400 miles) in an east-west direction. It reaches a maximum depth of 2,436 meters (7,993 feet), making it the deepest gorge on the North American continent. The canyon has a total length of 201 kilometers (125 miles), along 64 kilometers (40 miles) of which it is more than 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) deep. Hells Canyon, deep gorge of the Snake River forms part of the boundary between Idaho and Oregon and separates the Seven Devils (Idaho) and Wallowa (Oregon) mountain ranges. Finally, a third cascade of dams, from Hells Canyon to the mouth, facilitates navigation. In Hells Canyon, a cascade of dams produce hydroelectricity from the river’s lofty decrease in elevation over a comparatively small distance. From its headwaters to the beginning of Hells Canyon, many small dams block the Snake to provide irrigation water. A total of fifteen dams have been constructed along the Snake River for a multitude of different purposes.ĭams on the Snake can be grouped into three major categories. Many factors have influenced the construction of dams along the Snake River. By discharge the largest is the Clearwater River the second largest is the Salmon River. The Snake River has over 20 major tributaries, most of which are in the mountainous regions of the basin. The Snake River’s average flow is 1,553 cubic meters (54,830 cubic feet) per second. states: Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, and Washington, with the largest portion in Idaho. Its drainage basin is the 10th largest among North American rivers, and covers almost 280,000 square kilometers (108,000 square miles) in portions of six U.S.
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