They are a cheaper way to ship the wheat than the alternatives, which are trains and trucks. From Portland, the grain is shipped all over the world. Barges depend on dams. If dams didn't plug the Snake River and create pools of deep water, barges would crash on the rocks. Another type of boat also is common on the Snake - fishing boats.
Many fishermen visit the river to catch salmon, steelhead, bass and trout.
One popular spot to fish is in Hells Canyon, where the Snake River forms the Idaho-Oregon border. Hells Canyon is the deepest gorge in North America, even deeper than the Grand Canyon. It is very remote and hard to drive to because of all the mountains nearby, but it is rugged and beautiful. Even if these people never agree about how to operate the Snake, many can agree that it is one of the most valuable rivers in the West.