The Salt River is an
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
accessed May 4, 2011 river draining a valley in
Lincoln County in western
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
. It is named for several exposed beds of salt and briny salt springs of up 60% pure salt in
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
that drains into the Salt River via Stump Creek. The Salt River valley was a popular destination for Indians and later pioneers seeking salt and game. The headwaters of the river are below Mount Wagner in the
Salt River Range
The Salt River Range is a mountain range in western Wyoming. The 56 mile long range forms the eastern boundary of Star Valley as well as the western boundary of the Greys River valley.
The highest point is Mount Fitzpatrick at .
See also
* L ...
. The river flows west out of the mountains and then northward along the border of Wyoming and
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
. It passes
Smoot, Wyoming
Smoot is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lincoln County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 195 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Smoot is located at (42.620784, -110.912454). It's located in the Star Valley Wyoming it sits at 6,611 fee ...
and then meanders through the mostly agricultural
Star Valley, being joined by numerous creeks along the way, to its confluence with 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 ...
near the town of
Alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
(elevation ).
The Salt River watershed drains about of the western part of the Salt River Range in Wyoming and the eastern part of the
Caribou Range of Idaho. The
Greys River
The Greys River is a tributary of the Snake River, flowing through western Wyoming in the United States. The river is about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 4 ...
, draining part of the eastern side of the Salt River Range, joins the Snake River just a few miles east of the mouth of the Salt River.
About halfway along its course, the Salt River passes through a section known as the "Narrows", where it cuts between two ridges that divide Star Valley into an upper and lower valleys. The river's mouth is now inundated by the reservoir of the
Palisades Dam
Palisades Dam () is an earth-fill dam in the western United States, on the upper Snake River in eastern Idaho. Located in Bonneville County near the Wyoming border, the dam was completed in 1957.
Providing irrigation water, flood control, a ...
in Idaho during high water. Paralleling the Salt River is
Wyoming Highway 89
Wyoming Highway 89 (WYO 89) is a north-south state road that jumps in and out of Wyoming three times, and runs through the western edges of and Uinta County, Wyoming and Lincoln County, Wyoming.
Highway 89 leaves the state of Wyoming for a ...
leading north to
Teton and
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...
.
The river is an excellent source for fly fishing for
brook
A brook is a small river or natural stream of fresh water. It may also refer to:
Computing
*Brook, a programming language for GPU programming based on C
*Brook+, an explicit data-parallel C compiler
*BrookGPU, a framework for GPGPU programming ...
,
rainbow
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
,
cutthroat and
brown trout
The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...
. The state ranks the Salt River Class 2 (red) – Very good trout waters – fisheries of statewide importance.
History
Prior to about 1890, during the summer the Salt River valley was often visited by several different Indian tribes who valued its bountiful game, fish and salt. Starting from about 1810 to 1840 it and its many tributaries was trapped in the spring and fall by numerous trappers seeking its often plentiful beaver, muskrats and other fur and game. From about 1858 to 1910 the
Lander Road of the
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
and
California Trail
The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...
paralleled much of the river from above
Smoot
The smoot is a nonstandard, humorous unit of length created as part of an MIT fraternity prank. It is named after Oliver R. Smoot, a fraternity pledge to Lambda Chi Alpha, who in October 1958 lay down repeatedly on the Harvard Bridge (betwe ...
to
Auburn, Wyoming
Auburn is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lincoln County, Wyoming, United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 328.
The first settlement at Auburn was made in 1879.
Geography
Auburn is located at (42.794401, -111.004929). I ...
. Starting in 1866 to about 1880 an extensive salt works called the Oneida Salt Works dried the salt from some of these salt springs and sold it to miners, ranchers etc. in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. They closed down operations in the winter. Before about 1879 when settlers first started wintering over in the high upland valley later called
Star Valley people left for warmer places to spend the winter.
Some of the river's tributaries include Cottonwood, Stump, Willow, Strawberry, Cedar, Jackknife, and Dry creeks. Towns near the river progressing north include
Smoot
The smoot is a nonstandard, humorous unit of length created as part of an MIT fraternity prank. It is named after Oliver R. Smoot, a fraternity pledge to Lambda Chi Alpha, who in October 1958 lay down repeatedly on the Harvard Bridge (betwe ...
,
Fairview,
Afton,
Grover
Grover is a blue Muppet character on the popular PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. Self-described as lovable, cute and furry, he is a blue monster who rarely uses contractions when he speaks or sings. Grover was originall ...
,
Auburn
Auburn may refer to:
Places Australia
* Auburn, New South Wales
* City of Auburn, the local government area
*Electoral district of Auburn
*Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region
*Auburn, South Australia
*Auburn, Tasmania
*Aub ...
,
Turnerville,
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
,
Thayne,
Star Valley Ranch,
Freedom
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
,
Etna, and
Alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
.
[Tributaries and cities derived from USGS topo maps and Google maps.]
See also
*
Hoback River
The Hoback River, once called the Fall River, is an approximately -long tributary of the Snake River in the U.S. state of Wyoming. It heads in the northern Wyoming Range of Wyoming and flows northeast, northwest, and then west through the Bridge ...
*
Greys River
The Greys River is a tributary of the Snake River, flowing through western Wyoming in the United States. The river is about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 4 ...
*
List of rivers of Wyoming
The following is a list of rivers in Wyoming, United States.
East of the continental divide
Missouri River watershed
* Gallatin River
* Madison River
** Firehole River
** Gibbon River
* Yellowstone River
** Gardner River
** Lamar River
*** Slo ...
*
List of longest streams of Idaho
A total of seventy streams that are at least long flow through the U.S. state of Idaho. All of these streams originate in the United States except the Kootenai River (third-longest) and the Moyie River (thirty-first-longest), both of which beg ...
References
Upper Snake Province
{{authority control
Rivers of Wyoming
Tributaries of the Snake River
Rivers of Lincoln County, Wyoming