The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At 1,078 miles (1,735 km) long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake River rises in western Wyoming, then flows through the Snake River Plain of southern Idaho, the rugged Hells Canyon on the Oregon–Idaho border and the rolling Palouse Hills of Washington, emptying into the Columbia River at the Tri-Cities in the Columbia Basin of Eastern Washington.
Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had only two powerhouses. The third powerhouse ("Nat"), completed in 1974 to increase energy production, makes Grand Coulee the largest power station in the United States by nameplate-capacity at 6,809 MW.
The Bear River is the largest tributary of the Great Salt Lake, draining a mountainous area and farming valleys northeast of the lake and southeast of the Snake River Plain. It flows through southwestern Wyoming, southeastern Idaho, and northern Utah, in the United States. Approximately 350 miles (560 km) long it is the longest river in North America that does not ultimately reach the sea.
The Columbia Basin Project in Central Washington, United States, is the irrigation network that the Grand Coulee Dam makes possible. It is the largest water reclamation project in the United States, supplying irrigation water to over 670,000 acres (2,700 km2) of the 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) large project area, all of which was originally intended to be supplied and is still classified as irrigable and open for the possible enlargement of the system. Water pumped from the Columbia River is carried over 331 miles (533 km) of main canals, stored in a number of reservoirs, then fed into 1,339 miles (2,155 km) of lateral irrigation canals, and out into 3,500 miles (5,600 km) of drains and wasteways. The Grand Coulee Dam, powerplant, and various other parts of the CBP are operated by the Bureau of Reclamation. There are three irrigation districts in the project area, which operate additional local facilities.
The Lahontan Dam is a dam situated on the Carson River in the Carson Desert between Carson City, Nevada and Fallon, Nevada in the United States. Its impoundment is known as the Lahontan Reservoir or Lake Lahontan. It is currently operated by the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District.
Shoshone Falls is a waterfall in the western United States, on the Snake River in south-central Idaho, approximately three miles (5 km) northeast of the city of Twin Falls. Sometimes called the "Niagara of the West," Shoshone Falls is 212 feet (65 m) in height, 45 feet (14 m) higher than Niagara Falls, and flows over a rim nearly one thousand feet (300 m) in width.
The Magic Valley is a region in south-central Idaho constituting Blaine, Camas, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Twin Falls counties. It is particularly associated with the agricultural region in the Snake River Plain located in the area. The northern Magic Valley region — particularly Blaine and Camas Counties — is also known as the Wood River Valley after the Big Wood River.
The Minidoka Dam is an earthfill dam on the Snake River in south central Idaho. The dam, originally completed in 1906, is east of Rupert on county highway 400; it is 86 feet high and nearly a mile (1.6 km) in length, with a 2,400-foot (730 m) wide overflow spillway section. The dam and power plant were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Walcott Park, close to the dam, is a popular summertime picnic area. Lake Walcott State Park and the headquarters for the Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge are adjacent to the dam.
The American Falls Dam is a concrete gravity-type dam located near the town of American Falls, Idaho, on river mile 714.7 of the Snake River. The dam and reservoir are a part of the Minidoka Project on the Snake River Plain and are used primarily for flood control, irrigation, and recreation. When the original dam was built by the Bureau of Reclamation, the residents of American Falls were forced to relocate three-quarters of their town to make room for the reservoir. A second dam was completed in 1978 and the original structure was demolished. Although the dam itself is located in Power County, its reservoir also stretches northeastward into both Bingham County and Bannock County.
Palisades Dam is an earth-fill dam on the Snake River in Bonneville County in the U.S. state of Idaho. The dam was completed in 1957 and provides irrigation water, flood control, and recreation; it features a four-turbine hydroelectric power plant. The dam can potentially generate 176.5 MW of electricity. The resulting water impoundment, Palisades Reservoir, has a storage capacity of 1.2 million acre-feet. The dam and power station were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.
Ira Burton Perrine was an Idaho farmer, rancher and businessman. Perrine is generally credited as the founder of Twin Falls and other towns in the Magic Valley region.
The Rio Grande Project is a United States Bureau of Reclamation irrigation, hydroelectricity, flood control, and interbasin water transfer project serving the upper Rio Grande basin in the southwestern United States. The project irrigates 193,000 acres (780 km2) along the river in the states of New Mexico and Texas. Approximately 60 percent of this land is in New Mexico. Some water is also allotted to Mexico to irrigate some 25,000 acres (100 km2) on the south side of the river. The project was authorized in 1905, but its final features were not implemented until the early 1950s.
Salmon Falls Creek is a tributary of the Snake River, flowing from northern Nevada into Idaho in the United States. Formed in high mountains at the northern edge of the Great Basin, Salmon Falls Creek flows northwards 121 miles (195 km), draining an arid and mountainous basin of 2,103 square miles (5,450 km2). The Salmon Falls Creek valley served as a trade route between the Native American groups of the Snake River Plain and Great Basin. Today, most of its water is used for irrigation.
The Snake River Aquifer is a large reservoir of groundwater underlying the Snake River Plain in the southern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. Most of the water in the aquifer comes from rain and melting snow that flows onto the plain from the Snake River, Big Lost River and other lost streams of Idaho, Bruneau River, and other watercourses of southern Idaho. Measuring about 400 miles (640 km) from east to west, it is an important water source for agricultural irrigation in the Plain. The Snake River Aquifer is commonly defined as two separate parts, separated by Salmon Falls Creek: the Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer and Western Snake River Plain Aquifer.
The Minidoka Project is a series of public works by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to control the flow of the Snake River in Wyoming and Idaho, supplying irrigation water to farmlands in Idaho. One of the oldest Bureau of Reclamation projects in the United States, the project involves a series of dams and canals intended to store, regulate and distribute the waters of the Snake, with electric power generation as a byproduct. The water irrigates more than a million acres (4,000 km²) of otherwise arid land, producing much of Idaho's potato crop. Other crops include alfalfa, fruit and sugar beets. The primary irrigation district lies between Ashton in eastern Idaho and Bliss in the southwestern corner of the state. Five main reservoirs collect water, distributing it through 1,600 miles (2,600 km) of canals and 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of lateral distribution ditches.
Twin Falls is a waterfall in the western United States, on the Snake River in the Snake River Canyon of south-central Idaho. The falls are located on the border of Jerome and Twin Falls counties, a few miles east of its namesake city, Twin Falls. They are upstream (east) of Pillar Falls and Shoshone Falls and just downstream from Milner Dam.
Salmon Falls Dam is a dam constructed across Salmon Falls Creek in Twin Falls County, Idaho, in the United States. Located about 28 miles (45 km) southwest of Twin Falls, the masonry arch-gravity dam is 217 feet (66 m) high and 450 feet (140 m) long, impounding up to 230,650 acre-feet (0.28450 km3) of water in Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir. When full, the reservoir extends for 17 miles (27 km) upstream, encompassing 3,400 acres (1,400 ha). The dam and reservoir control runoff from a drainage basin of 1,610 sq mi (4,200 km2).
The Upper North Fork Feather River Project is a hydroelectric scheme in the Sierra Nevada of California, within Lassen and Plumas Counties. The project consists of three dams, five power plants, and multiple conduits and tunnels in the headwaters of the North Fork Feather River, a major tributary of the Feather—Sacramento River systems. The total installed capacity is 362.3 megawatts (MW), producing an annual average of 1,171.9 gigawatt hours (GWh). The project is also contracted for the delivery of irrigation water between March 31 and October 31 of each year. The project is owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
Lower Salmon Falls Dam is a concrete gravity-type hydroelectric dam on the Lower Salmon Falls of the Snake River, in the U.S. state of Idaho. The dam is located 5 miles downstream from Upper Salmon Falls, between Gooding County and Twin Falls County, Idaho.
