Snake River

This article covers the Snake River, tributary of the Columbia River, in the western United States. For other rivers with this name, see Snake River (disambiguation)

Snake River
Catchment area of ​​the Snake River
Data
Water code	US :  1533479
location	Wyoming , Idaho , Oregon , Washington (USA)
River system	Columbia River
Drain over	Columbia River  → Pacific Ocean
source	Yellowstone National Park , Rocky Mountains , Wyoming 44 ° 7 ′ 49 ″  N , 110 ° 13 ′ 10 ″  W
Source height	2723  m
muzzle	Columbia River Coordinates: 46 ° 11 '10 "  N , 119 ° 1' 43"  W 46 ° 11 '10 "  N , 119 ° 1' 43"  W.
Mouth height	104  m
Height difference	2619 m
Bottom slope	1.5 ‰
length	1735 km
Catchment area	41,700 km²
Drain	MQ	1614 m³ / s
Left tributaries	Gros Ventre River , Salt River , Blackfoot River , Portneuf River , Raft River , Salmon Falls Creek , Bruneau River , Owyhee River , Malheur River , Powder River , Grande Ronde River
Right tributaries	Heart River , Henrys Fork , Malad River , Boise River , Payette River , Weiser River , Salmon River , Clearwater River , Palouse River
Reservoirs flowed through	American Falls Reservoir , Brownlee Reservoir , Hells Canyon Reservoir , Oxbow Reservoir
Navigable	To Lewiston
National Wild and Scenic River
Snake River at the Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls
Oxbow Bend lookout on the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park

The Snake River is a 1,735 km long tributary of the Columbia River in the northwestern United States .

The Snake River has its source on the continental divide in Yellowstone National Park , then flows south in Wyoming through Grand Teton National Park . Behind the Snake River Canyon , it turns west and reaches the Snake River Plain , a plain that curves for about 600 km through southern Idaho . It flows past the towns of Idaho Falls , Pocatello , Twin Falls, and Boise , and forms several reservoirs such as the American Falls Reservoir . At the height of Twin Falls, the Snake River forms the 70 m high Shoshone Falls , also called Niagara of the west . Then it flows further north and forms part of the Idaho- Oregon border .

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  The Snake River in front of the Teton Mountain Range

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  The Shoshone Falls

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  The Snake River at Hells Canyon Reservoir Dam

South of Lewiston , the Snake River forms the Hells Canyon , which is one of the deepest canyons in the world with a depth of up to 2,410 m . After the confluence with the Clearwater River , the river in the US state of Washington is dammed several times to generate energy and finally flows into the Columbia River at Pasco . The Owyhee Dam , the Dworshak Dam and the Teton Dam , which was not rebuilt after a dam breach in 1976, are located in the catchment area of ​​the Snake River .

The river used to be called the Shoshone River and also the Lewis River after the Lewis and Clark Expedition explored part of the river in 1805. The name Snake possibly comes from an S-shaped hand sign of Shoshone - Indians , which has a floating salmon symbolized.

On the upper reaches of the river, around 670 km of the Snake River itself and its tributaries in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park are designated as National Wild and Scenic River , in the further course another 107 km below the Hells Canyon Dam in the Hells Canyon of the Snake River same status.

Web links

Commons : Snake River  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Snake River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
2. ↑ United States Geological Survey . 1987. Largest Rivers in the United States . Retrieved January 20, 2008.
3. ^ National Park Service: Snake River Headwaters Comprehensive Management Plan , March 6, 2014 press release
4. ↑ National Wild & Scenic Rivers - Snake River (Hells Canyon) ( Memento of the original from June 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.