kids encyclopedia robot

List of longest streams of Idaho facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Outside of Ketchum, Idaho
The Big Wood River (10th-longest) in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area in Blaine County

A total of seventy streams that are at least 50 miles (80 km) 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 begin in the Canadian province of British Columbia. At 1,076 miles (1,732 km), the Snake River is the longest and the only stream of more than 500 miles (800 km) in total length. It begins in Wyoming and flows through Idaho for 769 miles (1,238 km), and then through Oregon and Washington. Some of the other streams also cross borders between Idaho and Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, or Wyoming, but the majority flow entirely within Idaho, the longest of which is the Salmon River at 425 miles (684 km).

All but four of the streams lie within the large basin of the Columbia River, although the river itself does not flow through Idaho. Consequently, the predominant direction of the state's streamflow is northwest towards the Columbia River and its mouth at the Pacific Ocean. The only other major drainage basin in Idaho is the Great Salt Lake watershed in the state's southeastern corner, which is part of the Great Basin and has no outlet to the ocean. The Bear River, the second-longest stream, is within this watershed, along with the Malad River, Deep Creek, and the Logan River.

Source data for the table below comes from topographic maps created by the United States Geological Survey and published online by TopoQuest, and on the Idaho Road and Recreation Atlas, the National Hydrography Dataset, the Geographic Names Information System, and other sources as noted. In the table, total lengths are given in miles (mi) and kilometers (km).

Table

Map

Snake River Bear River Kootenai River Salmon River Owyhee River Clark Fork Palouse River Bruneau River Saint Joe River Big Wood River Big Lost River Blackfoot River North Fork Clearwater River Little Wood River Henrys Fork South Fork Owyhee River Portneuf River Goose Creek Salmon Falls Creek Pend Oreille River Spokane River Raft River Middle Fork Salmon River North Fork Payette River Weiser River Boise River South Fork Boise River Selway River Jordan Creek Malad River Moyie River South Fork Salmon River Willow Creek Salt River Payette River Teton River South Fork Payette River Hangman River North Fork Coeur d'Alene River Clearwater River Deep Creek Union Flat Creek Succor Creek Lochsa River Priest River Battle Creek Bannock Creek Indian Creek Sailor Creek Fall River Camas Creek Camas Creek South Fork Clearwater River Sheep Creek Squaw Creek Little Owyhee River Lemhi River Pahsimeroi River Beaver Creek Big Jacks Creek Potlatch River Marsh Creek Clover Creek Logan River Blue Creek Middle Fork Boise River Little Salmon River Jarbidge River Cow Creek North Fork Boise River IdahoIdaho Rivers
Image map of all Idaho streams more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) long. Each label is wikilinked to an article. Click on the small rectangles to the right of the caption for a larger map.

See also

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
List of longest streams of Idaho Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.