Snake River
The
Snake River is a
river in the western part of the
United States. The Snake River is 1,038 miles (1,670 km) in length, and is the
Columbia River's main tributary.
The
Lewis and Clark expedition (1803-6) was the first major U.S. exploration of the river.
Once known as the Lewis River, the Snake originates at
Yellowstone National Park in NW
Wyoming, flows through
Jackson Lake in the
Grand Teton National Park. The river passes through
Idaho where it cascades down several notable falls,
and passes the cities of
Twin Falls and
Boise, and flows north along the
Idaho/
Oregon border, through
Hell's Canyon, and past the cities
Lewiston, Idaho and
Clarkston, Washington. It then flows into
Washington, through many
hydroelectric dams and finally joins the
Columbia River near
Pasco, Washington.
Tributaries of the Snake include Henrys Fork River, the Boise River, the Salmon River, and
the Clearwater River.
The Snake River's many hydroelectric power plants are a major source of electricity in the region. Its watershed provides irrigation for various projects, including the Minidoka, Boise, Palisades, and Owyhee projects by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, as well as a variety of private projects such as at Twin Falls.
The Snake runs through a number of gorges. The gorges include one of the deepest in the world, Hell's Canyon, with a maximum depth of 7,900 feet (2,410 m).
The name "Snake" possibly derived from an S-shaped (snake) sign which the Shoshone Indians made with their hands to mimic swimming salmon. The uppermost part of the river, from the point where Henrys Fork enters, is referred to informally as the South Fork Snake River.
Variant Names:
- Great Snake River
- Lewis Fork
- Lewis River
- Mad River
- Saptin River
- Shoshone River
- Yam-pah-pa
Counties through which the Snake flows:
- Franklin County, Washington
- Walla Walla County, Washington
- Columbia County, Washington
- Whitman County, Washington
- Garfield County, Washington
- Asotin County, Washington
- Nez Perce County, Idaho
- Wallowa County, Oregon
- Idaho County, Idaho
- Adams County, Idaho
- Baker County, Oregon
- Washington County, Idaho
- Malheur County, Oregon
- Payette County, Idaho
- Canyon County, Idaho
- Owyhee County, Idaho
- Ada County, Idaho
- Elmore County, Idaho
- Gooding County, Idaho
- Twin Falls County, Idaho
- Jerome County, Idaho
- Cassia County, Idaho
- Minidoka County, Idaho
- Blaine County, Idaho
- Power County, Idaho
- Bingham County, Idaho
- Bannock County, Idaho
- Bonneville County, Idaho
- Jefferson County, Idaho
- Lincoln County, Wyoming
- Teton County, Wyoming
Source for some material:
U.S. Geological Survey