Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1907-08-09
The Great Idaho Desert.

SSANCAOAS was SGI0l-
tropical garden. Countless
streams crossed it and lengthwise
through it flowed the mighty
Snake. In the forest primevaI
and over the verdure clad plains
roamed the mastadon, the man.
moth, the camel, a queer kind Of
horse, and many other species OF
prehistoric animals. We know
: all this to be true by reason OF
the discovery of the remains of the
extinct animals in the recent
excavation made at Minidoka
rapids. A great catastrophe
overwhelmed this valley. On
seven different occasions the lof-
ty Tetons which frame its east
ern boundary, and which were
then active VOLCANOES, erupted
and poured forth a sea of lava,
which swept downward and
westward, covering the beautiful
valley with a blanket of fiery
liquid more than 800 feet thick.
In the cataclysm all the teeming
life was annihiIated. The rivers
were burned up and their chan
nels obliterated.
The Snake river cut it's way
through the lava sheets, carving
for itself one of the most wond-
erful canyons in the west; other
streams from the south persisted
and finally joined the parent
stream. On the north the rivers
encountered the wall of lava, but
did not cut throuth it. It is a
striking photographic feature of
the valley that for hundreds of
miles not a river crosses it from
the north.
Among the streams which flow
southwark from the range of
snowcapped mountains on the
northern edge of the valley two
are especially interesting, the
Big and Little Lost rivers. In
that long ago before the mountain
belched forth fire these rivers
formed an important tributary
Of the Snake, but the channel
was obliterated by successive lay
ers of lava which flowed over it.
Today the floods of these rivers
flow for a short distance on the
surface Of the plain and then
disappear in assures, crevices,
or in the softer or loosen forma-
tons. Both are truely lost
rivers, for never appear again as
streams.
It is more than 100 miles from
where they lost themselves in
the lava to the canyon of the
Snake river. Yet it is believed
that a part of the waters of
these rivers, passing through
subterranean channels hundreds
of feet below the surface, finally
reach their former continent.
Shepherds in winter on this
broad plain have long insisted
that at several places where
there were yawning chasms in
the lava the rushing waters
: could be heard distinctly.
Further evidence of the sound
ness of this theory is found in
the huge springs which break out
along the northern wall of the
Snake river canyon.
One group of these near the
head of Hagerman valley is the
+, most remarkable in the world.
They are known as Thousand
I springs. It is as difficult to
describe them as it is to find
words to portray Niagara. Con-
ceive, if you can, more than
half a mile of precipitous can
yon, with black and frOwning
= face nearly 300 feet high. Then
;, imagine 1000 geysers rushing
!. forth with tremendous pressure,
:. the water, white with foam,
. describing a perfect parabola
o and then falling sheer 200 feet
to be dashed into spray on the
rocks below. The roar of these
cataracts is deafening. In thu
N spray which rises the bright SUI
paints innumerable rainbows O
oo1o,.iy,or ON