Week 3-Snake River

For this week's travel journal I decided to write about a river I have lived near my entire life.  The snake river is a 1,078 mile long river in the pacific northwest region. It is the largest river flowing into the Columbia River, which is the largest river that flows directly into the Pacific Ocean.

The river begins in western Wyoming, flows into south-eastern Idaho (my home), and then northwest into Oregon and Washington, where it empties into the Columbia river in Tri-Cities, Washington.

Historically, the river has been home to multiple Native American tribes such as the Nez Perce and Shoshone.  The river was used as a route through the Northwest for the infamous explorers Lewis and Clark on their expedition to the Pacific Ocean.  The Snake River got its name from misinterpretation of Native American sign language by colonial explorers, and the name has stuck for centuries.

The snake river plain was created by a volcanic hotspot in Yellowstone National Park.  The carving of canyons and waterfalls of the river are believed to have been formed by glacial melting of the last Ice Age.  Because of the high concentration of basalt rocks in the Snake River plain have such high hydraulic conductivity, this has formed the Snake River Aquifer.  Which is the only source of drinking water for over 300,000 residents of south-eastern Idaho.


Source

National Parks Service. “Snake River.” National Parks Service- Snake River, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/snake-river.htm