Snake River

Snake River
a river flowing from NW Wyoming through S Idaho into the Columbia River in SE Washington: Shoshone Falls. 1038 mi. (1670 km) long.

* * *

River, northwestern U.S. It is the largest tributary of the Columbia River and one of the most important streams in the Pacific Northwest.

It rises in the mountains of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and flows south through Idaho 1,040 mi (1,670 km) to enter the Columbia in southeastern Washington. The lower Snake flows through Hells Canyon, the deepest river gorge in North America.

The lower Snake River in Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, between Oregon and Idaho.

Greg Vaughn/Tom Stack & Associates

* * *

 largest tributary of the Columbia River and one of the most important streams in the Pacific Northwest section of the United States. It rises in the mountains of the Continental Divide near the southeastern corner of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and flows south through Jackson Lake along the eastern base of the Teton Range in Grand Teton National Park. Swinging northwest near the mouth of Greys River, it enters Idaho through the Palisades Reservoir. Near Heise the river leaves the mountains and crosses the broad Snake River Plain of southern Idaho, an area covered by lava beds. On the western edge of the state, it is joined by the Boise River. Turning north, it forms the Oregon–Idaho boundary for 216 mi (348 km). From the northeastern corner of Oregon it forms the Washington-Idaho boundary to Lewiston, Idaho, and then turns west to join the Columbia just south of Pasco, Wash., after a course of 1,040 miles (1,670 km).

      Runoff from the states of Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington combines in the Snake, which has a drainage basin of 109,000 square miles (282,000 square km). From elevations of 10,000 feet (3,000 m), the river descends to 300 feet (90 m).

      The upper Snake River, above King Hill, Idaho, is used for irrigation and hydropower. The main stream is regulated by several dams and reservoirs, the most expansive being American Fall Dam and Reservoir. In 1976 the Teton Dam collapsed, causing disastrous flooding of the upper Snake River valley. Principal tributaries below Heise are Henrys Fork (the largest), Blackfoot, Portneuf, Raft, and Big Wood rivers. Henrys Fork and Big Wood enter the Snake River from the north. Other northern side streams sink into the Snake River Plain and become part of an immense underground reservoir. Twin Falls and Shoshone Falls, with drops of 65 and 212 feet (20 and 65 m), respectively, are located near Twin Falls city, downstream from Milner Dam.

      The middle Snake River, from King Hill to Weiser, Idaho, is used primarily for hydroelectric generation. Most of the irrigation in this section is from tributary streams, principally the Payette, Owyhee, Malheur, and Boise rivers.

 The lower Snake River, from Weiser to the mouth, flows through a gorge 1 mile (1.6 km) deep known as Hells Canyon (q.v.), the deepest river gorge in North America (see photograph—>). The Salmon River, its largest tributary, joins the Snake near the downstream end of the canyon section.
 

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Snake River — an der Perrine Bridge in Twin FallsVorlage:Infobox Fluss/KARTE fehlt …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Snake River —   [ sneɪk rɪvə], größter (linker) Nebenfluss des Columbia River in den USA, 1 670 km lang, entspringt im Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming) in den Rocky Mountains; durchfließt die Snake River Plain, eine aus quartären Basalten aufgebaute… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Snake River — [transl. (prob. erroneous) of earlier Shoshone River] river in the NW U.S., flowing from Yellowstone National Park into the Columbia River in Wash.: 1,038 mi (1,670 km) …   English World dictionary

  • Snake River — (spr. Snel Riwwr), so v.w. Lewis River …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Snake River — (spr. ßnēk riwwer, »Schlangenfluß«, auch Shoshone River und Lewis Fork), wichtigster Nebenfluß des Columbia, entspringt im Shoshonesee (2385 m ü. M.) im Yellowstone Nationalpark, durchströmt mit mehreren hohen Wasserfällen (American , Twin ,… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Snake River — (spr. ßnehk riww r), Fluß im westl. Nordamerika, entspringt im Nationalpark von Wyoming, mündet nach 1450 km in den Columbia …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Snake River — Geobox|River name = Snake River native name = other name = other name1 = image size = 290 image caption = Perrine Bridge spanning the Snake River Canyon at Twin Falls, Idaho country = United States country country1 = state = Wyoming state1 =… …   Wikipedia

  • Snake River — Sp Gyvãčių ùpė Ap Snake River L JAV (Aidaho, Oregono ir Vašingtono v jos); Kanadoje (Britų Kolumbija) …   Pasaulio vietovardžiai. Internetinė duomenų bazė

  • Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area — The Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area has one of the densest populations of nesting raptors.[1] The National Conservation Area (NCA) is located 35 miles (56 km) s …   Wikipedia

  • Snake River (Begriffsklärung) — Snake River („Schlangenfluss“) bezeichnet mehrere Flüsse in Nordamerika: Vereinigte Staaten Snake River, größter Nebenfluss des Columbia Rivers im Nordwesten der Vereinigten Staaten Snake River (Colorado), Nebenfluss des Blue Rivers in Colorado… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”