The Portneuf River is a tributary of the Snake River, approximately 96 miles (154 km) long, in southeastern Idaho in the United States. It drains a ranching and farming valley in the mountains southwest of the Snake River Plain. The city of Pocatello sits along the river near its emergence from the mountains onto the Snake River Plain.
The river is part of the Columbia River Basin.
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Course
The Portneuf River rises in western Caribou County, approximately 25 miles (40 km) east of Pocatello, along the eastern side of the Portneuf Range. It flows initially south, passing westward around the southern end of the range, and then turning north to flow between the Portneuf Range to the east and the Bannock Range. It flows northwest through downtown Pocatello and enters the Snake at the northeast corner of American Falls Reservoir, approximately 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Pocatello.
Watershed and discharge
The Portneuf watershed drains 850,290 acres (3,441 km2) in southeastern Idaho and is bounded by Malad Summit to the south, the Bannock Range to the west, the Portneuf Range to the southeast, and the Chesterfield Range to the northeast. Marsh Creek is the only major tributary to the Portneuf River . Other creeks in this watershed include Mink, Rapid, Garden,Hawkins, Birch, Dempsey, Pebble, Twentyfourmile, and Toponce creeks. The total area of the Chesterfield Reservoir is estimated at 1,236 acres (5 km2).[1]
The Portneuf River's drainage basin is approximately 1,329 square miles (3,442 km2) in area.[2]
Its mean annual discharge, as measured at by USGS gage 13075910 (Portneuf River at Tyhee, ID), is 418 cubic feet per second (11.8 m3/s), with a maximum daily recorded flow of 1,730 cu ft/s (49.0 m3/s), and a minimum of 32 cu ft/s (0.906 m3/s).[3]
History
The Portneuf River was given its name sometime before 1821 by French Canadian voyageurs working for the Montreal-based fur trading North West Company. [4]
The valley of the Portneuf provided the route of the Oregon Trail and California Trail in the middle 19th century. After the discovery of gold in Montana and Idaho, it became a significant stage route for the transportation of people and goods. In 1877 the valley was used as the route of the Utah and Northern Railway, the first railroad in Idaho.
See also
References
- ^ http://www.nwcouncil.org/fw/subbasinplanning/uppersnake/plan/Assessment/1IntroOverview.pdf
- ^ Upper Snake, Headwaters, Closed Basin Subbasins Plan Plan, Northwest Power and Conservation Council
- ^ Upper Snake River basin between Idaho Falls and Neeley (includes Willow Creek, Blackfoot and Portneuf River basins), Water Resources Data, Idaho, 2005
- ^ Mackie, Richard Somerset (1997). Trading Beyond the Mountains: The British Fur Trade on the Pacific 1793-1843. Vancouver: University of British Columbia (UBC) Press. pp. 26. ISBN 0-7748-0613-3.
External links
Coordinates: 42°57′6″N 112°45′2″W / 42.95167°N 112.75056°W
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