Thousand Springs State Park is a public recreation and nature preservation area consisting of multiple units — Billingsley Creek, Earl M. Hardy Box Canyon Springs Nature Preserve, Malad Gorge, Niagara Springs, and Ritter Island — in Gooding County, Idaho.

Park units

The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

was created in 2005, when four existing state parks in the Hagerman Valley were merged into a single entity, with an additional unit subsequently added to the complex. ;Billingsley Creek This former ranch was purchased by the state in 2001. One feature is the homesite of western author

Vardis Fisher Vardis Alvero Fisher (March 31, 1895 – July 9, 1968) was an American writer from Idaho who wrote popular historical novels of the Old West. After studying at the University of Utah and the University of Chicago, Fisher taught English at the Uni ...

. Billingsley Creek Unit totals . ;Earl M. Hardy Box Canyon Springs Nature Preserve This box canyon has walls. At its head is the eleventh-largest

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

in North America, gushing per minute. There is a waterfall. The property was developed by the Nature Conservancy which purchased the site in 1999, then completed its transfer to the state in 2016. (Does this include

Priestly's Hydraulic Ram Priestly's Hydraulic Ram, located in Gooding County, Idaho near Hagerman, Idaho, was a hydraulic ram invented and built . It was used to move water uphill to irrigate agricultural land on the plateau above the Snake River. It was located abou ...

, listed on the National Register of Historic Places?) MALAD GORGE STATE PARK, IDAHO

;Malad Gorge Malad Gorge is a

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

formed by the Malad River, downstream from a waterfall. This day-use unit is off Interstate 84 and offers hiking and picnicking. A section of the Oregon Trail is visible. Rock pigeons, red-tailed hawks and golden eagles nest in the canyon. Yellow-bellied marmots are found on the canyon floor. ;Niagara Springs Proclaimed a National Natural Landmark, this area borders the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At 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 ...

and features sheer basalt cliffs high. There are in two parcels, acquired in 1971 and 1976. ;Ritter Island This unit lies along the Snake River between two large springs.

References

External links

Thousand Springs State Park
Idaho Parks and Recreation
Thousand Springs State Park Brochure
Idaho Parks and Recreation {{authority control Protected areas of Gooding County, Idaho State parks of Idaho Protected areas established in 2005 Snake River 2005 establishments in Idaho National Natural Landmarks in Idaho

Park units

See also

References

Further reading

External links