Thursday, July 24, 2014

River of No Return

I have always wanted to "turn the corner". A term white water rafters refer to as running the Middle Fork to the confluence of the Main Salmon then continuing on to through the wilderness section.  This season I was fortunate enough to have that opportunity, and was able to photograph 200 plus river miles on one of North America's most famous rivers.

The Salmon is also known as The River of No Return. It flows for 425 miles through central Idaho, draining a rugged, thinly populated watershed of 14,000 square miles  and dropping more than 7,000 feet between its headwaters, near Galena Summit above the Sawtooth Valley in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, and its confluence with the Snake River. It is the longest free-flowing river in the lower 48 states. From elevations above 8,000 feet, the Salmon cascades to an elevation of 905 feet before it joins the Snake River in Hells Canyon, near the Idaho/Oregon border.

Main Salmon River near Campbell's Ferry.





Tumble Creek on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.
The Salmon flows through a vast wilderness, as well as the second-deepest gorge on the continent. Only Hells Canyon in the Snake River is deeper. The Salmon's granite-walled canyon is over 1,000 feet deeper than the Grand Canyon. For approximately 180 miles, the Salmon River canyon is more than a mile deep.
 
To view more images of the Salmon River visit my web site : www.markliskphotography.com  and search using the key word "Salmon River"