Snake River Canyon 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

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 ...

in the

Magic Valley The Magic Valley is a region in south-central Idaho constituting Blaine, Camas, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Twin Falls counties. It is particularly associated with the agricultural region in the Snake River Plain located ...

region of southern

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 ...

, forming part of the boundary between

Twin Falls County Twin Falls County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 Census, the county had a population of 90,046, making it the fifth-most populous county in Idaho. The county seat and largest city is Twin Falls ...

to the south and Jerome County to the north. The canyon ranges up to 500 feet (150 meters) deep and 0.25 miles (0.4 kilometers) wide, and runs for just over 50 miles.

Perrine Bridge The I. B. Perrine Bridge is a four-lane truss arch span in the western United States. Located at Twin Falls, Idaho, it carries U.S. Highway 93 over the Snake River Canyon, connecting to Jerome County and Interstate 84. The Perrine Bridge i ...

crosses the canyon immediately north of the city of Twin Falls.

Shoshone Falls Shoshone Falls () is a waterfall in the western United States, on the Snake River in south-central Idaho, approximately northeast of the city of Twin Falls. Sometimes called the "Niagara of the West," Shoshone Falls is in height, higher than ...

is located approximately 5 miles (8 kilometers) east of Perrine Bridge along the canyon. The canyon continues through Glenns Ferry and south of Boise, making it longer than 50 miles.

History

In the late 19th century I. B. Perrine and others founded the Magic Valley's first successful agricultural operations on the Snake River Canyon floor. The canyon's value as a farming area diminished after

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

projects made agriculture practical in the surrounding areas in the early 20th century. Today the canyon floor is a

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

attraction and features several parks and

golf courses A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

. In the past it was generally believed the Snake River Canyon was created by a cataclysmic flood caused by water released from

Lake Bonneville Lake Bonneville was the largest Late Pleistocene paleolake in the Great Basin of western North America. It was a pluvial lake that formed in response to an increase in precipitation and a decrease in evaporation as a result of cooler temperature ...

approximately 15,000 years ago. However, as of 2000, geologists believe that while the canyon was shaped by the flood, its basic structure predated it.

Local fame

The canyon is well known as the site of an unsuccessful 1974 attempt by

Evel Knievel Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel (; October 17, 1938 – November 30, 2007) was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Over the course of his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps. Knievel was inducted into the Motor ...

to jump across it in the

Skycycle X-2 The Skycycle X-2 was a steam-powered rocket owned by Evel Knievel and flown during his Snake River Canyon jump in Idaho in 1974. An earlier prototype was designed, named the Skycycle X-1, by Doug Malewicki and retired U.S. Navy engineer Robert ...

rocket. The dirt ramp built for that jump is still there and remains a tourist attraction (42°35'49.5"N 114°25'22.3"W). On September 16, 2016, stuntman Eddie Braun successfully jumped the canyon using technology similar to that used by Evel Knievel 42 years previously. File:2013-07-07 17 40 58 View west down the Snake River Canyon from just northwest of Shoshone Falls in Idaho.jpg, View west down the Snake River Canyon from

File:Snake river canyon 20070602.JPG, Looking west down the Snake River Canyon from the Perrine Bridge File:2013-07-07 17 37 07 View east up the Snake River Gorge from just northwest of Shoshone Falls in Idaho.jpg, View up the Snake River Gorge above Shoshone Falls

References

External links

Canyons and gorges of Idaho Landforms of Twin Falls County, Idaho Landforms of Jerome County, Idaho {{TwinFallsCountyID-geo-stub