Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1923-04-05
U. S. Report On Fill


Mapuscript copies of the report pre-
pared as a result of this trip on the
power resources of Salmon river, have
been placed on file for public inspect
ton at the office of the q. S. geologi-
cal survey department of the interior
at Washington, ID. c. and at the office
OF the district engineer at Boise.
Salmon river is the largest tributary
of the Snake. 1t rises in south-central
Idaho, flows north, west, northwest and
south across the central part Of the
state, and discharges into Snake river
about fifty miles upstream from Lew
iston. 1t drains an area of 1900
square miles in Idaho and with the
Snake drains two-thirds of the state.
1t lies in a basin bordered by the Sew
en- Devils on the southwest; the Saw
tooth mountains, Lost River noun
tains, and Lemhi range on the south;
and the Beaverhead mountains of the
continental divide on the east
Early Explorers of Canyon
In August, 1905, Capt. william
Clark and his patty, in search for
the Columbia river, entered the Salm-
on river valley from the Beaverhead
river basin at a point near the site
of the present city of Salmon. After
traversing the valley for about fifty
miles, he decided that it would be i'm
possible to continue downstream, hav-
ing been informed by the Indians that
miles of white water and snow-cover-
ed mountains would prevent further
progress. At this time, Salmon river
was named Lewis river by Captain
Clark after Meriwether Lewis, the
leader of the expedition. Captain
Clarks party then recrossed the con-
tinental divide and went north, finally
hitting the Nez Perez Indian trail,
which they followed westward to the
Columbia.
Salmon river may now be reached by
an auto stage that runs from Ketchum
to HALEY and along the river to
Salmon; by the Gilmore & Pittsburg
railroad from Armstead across the
continental divide to Salmon; and by
automobile from New Meadows and
Grangeville. By special arrangements,
trips can now be made safely and cas-
lily by boat throughout the distance
between Salmon and the mouth of the
river. Through the greater part of
its course. below Salmon, the river
flows through a narrow, almost mac
cessible valley, bounded by high gram
tie ranges and containing few roads or
trails. In the upper stretches OF the
river the slopes are well watered and
timbered and big game abounds; in
the lower stretches the precipitation is
light and the valley is semi-arid. The
flow of the river is well sustained, and
the average fall is great, being more
than fifteen feet a mile for some 90
mile stretches The wall of the valley
are generally Of massive granite and
afford numerous good sites for dams.
Tunnel to Snake River
The geological survey report con-
tains maps and descriptions of twenty
three sites at which, it is estimated,
nearly 100000 horsepower could be de-
veloped at times Of low-water flow
and nearly twice that amount at times
of medium flow. The project suggest
ed for one of these sizes conUemplates
the diversion of the flow of Salmon
river into the Snake by means of
tunnel eight miles long, which would
create a head Of 430 feet. Power is
already generated on some OF the trib-
utaries Of the Salmon.
The report describes the present
railroad routes to the northwest and
considers proposed routes, especially
the one along Salmon and Snake rivers
to Lewiston and its relation to other
routes.
Besides the technical discussion, the
report contains description OF the
and scenic features OF the
basin and describes the methods OF
navigation that are successfully used
there.