Salmon River (Idaho)

The Salmon River originates from and flows through the mountains of central and eastern Idaho (Lemhi Range, Sawtooth, Salmon River Mountains, Clearwater and Bitterroot Range). The main stem rises in the Sawtooth Range at over {{convert|9200|ft|-1}} in elevation, several miles northwest of Norton Peak. For the first {{convert|30|mi|round=5|spell=in}}, it flows north through the Sawtooth Valley, then turns east at Stanley, receiving the Yankee Fork shortly below that point and the East Fork further downstream. The river then flows northeast, receiving the Pahsimeroi River at Ellis and then the Lemhi River at Salmon east of the Lemhi Range.

North of Salmon, the river is joined at its North Fork, before turning west into over {{convert|200|mi}} of continuous canyons through the Salmon River and Clearwater Mountains – some of the most rugged and isolated terrain in the contiguous United States. Exhibiting upwards of {{convert|7000|ft|-1}} of vertical relief, the Salmon River canyons are some of the deepest in the U.S., surpassing the Grand Canyon and second only to the Snake River's Hells Canyon, nearby on the Idaho–Oregon border.{{cite web |url=http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/visit_and_play/things_to_do/rivers/rivers/lower_salmon_river.html |title=Lower Salmon |access-date=2013-12-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215223425/http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/visit_and_play/things_to_do/rivers/rivers/lower_salmon_river.html |archive-date=2013-12-15 }} Here, the river is joined by its two largest tributaries, the Middle Fork and South Fork. {{convert|10|mi|spell=In}} downstream (west) of its confluence with the Middle Fork, the Salmon River becomes the dividing line for the two time zones in Idaho: Mountain Time to the south, Pacific Time to the north, bisecting the state at approximately 45½ degrees north latitude.

The river turns abruptly north at the confluence with the Little Salmon River at Riggins, about {{convert|87|mi|km}} above its mouth. From there the river flows almost due north, with U.S. Route 95 crossing the river on the "Time Zone Bridge" just north of Riggins,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rrQpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jPEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1524%2C8470304 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Time Zone Bridge over Salmon River heading west |date=May 19, 1997 |page=A7}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ns9eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8DIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4814%2C1706374 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |last=Johnson |first=David |title=Time (zone) marches on |date=June 21, 1997 |page=1A}} and then travels on its east bank until a few miles before White Bird. The highway splits north to climb White Bird Hill while the river loops northwest and then south to its confluence with the Snake River north of Hells Canyon, {{convert|15|mi|round=5|spell=in}} south of the Washington border and {{convert|40|mi|round=5}} upstream of Lewiston. Excluding Alaska, the Salmon River is the longest river system contained entirely within a single U.S. state.{{cite web |title=The Salmon River |url=http://idahoptv.org/outdoors/shows/whitewater/salmon.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215214138/http://idahoptv.org/outdoors/shows/whitewater/salmon.cfm |archive-date=2013-12-15 |access-date=2013-12-14 |work=Outdoor Idaho |publisher=Idaho Public Television}}

The Salmon River area has been home to people for at least the last 8,000 years.{{cite web|url=http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/salmon-id.php |title=Salmon River, Idaho |publisher=National Wild & Scenic Rivers System |access-date=February 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226054156/http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/salmon-id.php |archive-date=February 26, 2014 |url-status=dead }} At European contact, much of the area was inhabited by several tribes, including the Nez Perce. The river was considered sacred ground and a rich source of food for the indigenous people of the area, who relied on the abundant salmon species and other wildlife.

File:Pacific Northwest River System.png]]

In August 1805, just after crossing the Continental Divide, Lewis and Clark ventured down the Salmon River, but found it to be too rough to be navigable. Clark wrote:

... I shall in justice to Capt. Lewis who was the first white man ever on this fork of the Columbia Call this Louis's river. ... The Westerly fork of the Columbia River [the present Salmon River] is double the size of the Easterley fork [the present Lemhi River] & below those forks the river is ... {{convert|100|yd|disp=sqbr|-1}} wide, it is very rapid & Sholey water Clear but little timber.{{Cite web | url=http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/sc/recreation/lewis-clark/maptext.shtml |title=18 – Forks of Louis's River| publisher=U. S. Forest Service |work=Salmon-Challis National Forest – Lewis & Clark Interactive Tour |access-date=2009-01-10}}

The honor didn't last long; by 1810, maps of the area were already referring to "Louis' River" as the Salmon. Clark had thought that the Salmon River was the Snake River, thus he called it the "Westerly fork of the Columbia". The Snake River retained the variant name "Lewis River" or "Lewis Fork" longer than did the Salmon.

In the Early to Mid 19th Century other explorers arrived to the Salmon River and ultimately stayed. These early explorers included Frank Lance, Francis, Hank the Hermit, and most well known and storied Buckskin Bill. {{cite web|url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2xxSp7VbbQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/Y2xxSp7VbbQ |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Video |website=www.youtube.com |access-date=2020-12-07}}{{cbignore}} Sylvan Ambrose Hart (Buckskin Bill) was one of the last Mountain Men to inhabit the Salmon River Canyon at 5 Mile Bar. He arrived to the canyon in/around 1928 from the Oklahoma Territory. For nearly 50 years he lived at 5 Mile Bar and spent less than 50 dollars a year on staples like coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar, flour, etc. Buckskin was a true craftsman in his own right forging his own knives, pistols, rifles, kettles, pots, and pans. Buckskin died in 1980 and his cabin at 5 mile bar has been turned into a museum.{{cite web|url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=K75sQ37hibg |title=Video |website=www.youtube.com |access-date=2020-12-07}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead Youtube links|date=February 2022}}

In the 1860s, placer deposits of gold were found along the river, and a gold rush began. Miners came to the area, causing clashes with the Nez Perce on their ancestral tribal lands. Many historic and present day mines (including dredging operations) can be seen while traveling along the river.

Image:Sawtooth Mountains and Salmon River.JPG from Lower Stanley]]

Several national forests and Sawtooth National Recreation Area provide for numerous recreation opportunities within the river's watershed. Two segments (the Middle Fork and a section of the main Salmon River, known as the Main Fork) are protected as National Wild and Scenic Rivers. The Middle Fork was one of the original eight rivers designated Wild and Scenic in 1968, and is often considered the "crown jewel" of the Wild and Scenic system.{{Cite web|url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/scnf/recreation/wateractivities/?cid=stelprdb5302105|title=Salmon-Challis National Forest - Water Activities}}

The Salmon is a popular destination for whitewater kayaking, canoeing, and rafting. The canyons of the Salmon allow for magnificent views of the complex geology of the region. The Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area includes one of the deepest canyons in the continental United States, which at roughly {{convert|7000|ft|-1}} of vertical relief, is deeper than the Grand Canyon. Outdoor Lodges dot the main canyon of the Salmon River from Salmon, Idaho to Riggins, Idaho. Often the only way to access these lodges is either by motorized boats, rafting trips, hiking, and even some isolated airstrips.

Both the Middle Fork and Main Fork travel through the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area. The Middle Fork is about {{convert|110|mi}} long, while the Main Fork is about {{convert|81|mi}} in length. The Middle Fork raft trip run ends {{convert|7|mi}} prior to the beginning of the Main Fork run; Corn Creek is the start of the Main Fork section of the Salmon River.

The South Fork of the Salmon flows through Payette National Forest and enters the Wild and Scenic Main Fork at Mackay Bar. The Main Fork raft trip ends about {{convert|25|mi|round=5}} east of Riggins, either at Vinegar Creek or Carey Creek, marking the beginning of the Lower Salmon rafting section. Boating companies offer both single and multiple day trips on the river.

The Middle Fork of the Salmon River is known as one of the best catch and release fly fisheries in the nation. Other recreational activities along the river include camping, hiking and mountain biking.

{{see also|List of animals of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area|List of birds of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area}}

The Salmon River historically produced 45 percent of all the steelhead (ocean-going rainbow trout) and 45 percent of all the spring and summer chinook salmon in the entire Columbia River Basin. The Salmon River basin contains most (up to 70 percent) of the remaining salmon and steelhead habitat in the Columbia River Basin. Despite abundant, excellent salmon habitat in the Salmon River basin, chinook, steelhead, and sockeye salmon populations have not significantly recovered, despite listings under the federal Endangered Species Act since the mid-1990s. Populations remain at risk in large part because of the negative effects of four federal dams and reservoirs on the lower Snake river, through which both juvenile salmon and returning adults must pass. Many Northwest salmon advocates, commercial & sportfishermen call for removal of the Lower Granite, Little Goose, Lower Monumental, and Ice Harbor dams to address survival problems. As of November 2015, controversy continues in politics, public discourse, and in federal court, where federal salmon recovery plans are under legal challenge.multiple sources, incl. Idaho Dept of Fish and Game, USFS, USFWS. {{Citation needed|reason=This entire paragraph needs to be verified with credible sources|date=August 2014}}

{{kml}}

The United States Geological Survey operates four stream gauge water level monitoring stations on the main stem of the Salmon River and 17 others on its tributaries. Real time data is available for each station on the USGS website. For a map of these see Salmon River USGS Station Map or in the box at right.

Image:Salmon-river-1.jpg|Salmon River, north of Riggins

Image:Sunbeam Dam.jpg|Breached Sunbeam Dam on the Salmon

Image:yankeefork.JPG|Yankee Fork of the Salmon

Image:Yankeeforkdredge.JPG|Yankee Fork Gold Dredge

Image:Theb1883.jpg|Salmon River Canyon 1945

• List of Idaho rivers
• List of longest streams of Idaho
• List of National Wild and Scenic Rivers

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Salmon River (Idaho)}}

• [http://www.salmonriverinfo.com Salmon River] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226141421/http://www.salmonriverinfo.com/ |date=2010-02-26 }} – Salmon River, Info Hub
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20051217225408/http://www.visitidaho.org/thingstodo/attractions.aspx?attractionid=30955 Visit Idaho.org] – Idaho Rivers
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100407070014/http://www.rivers.gov/wsr-salmon-main.html Salmon River (National Wild and Scenic Rivers site)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100610053757/http://www.rivers.gov/wsr-salmon-middle.html Middle Fork of the Salmon (National Wild and Scenic Rivers site)]

{{Idaho}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Rivers of Idaho

Category:Canyons and gorges of Idaho

Category:Rivers of Idaho County, Idaho

Category:Rivers of Lemhi County, Idaho

Category:Rivers of Custer County, Idaho

Category:Rivers of Blaine County, Idaho

Category:Tributaries of the Snake River

Category:Salmon-Challis National Forest

Category:Sawtooth National Forest

Category:Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States