Raft River
Encyclopedia
The Raft River is a 108 miles (173.8 km) tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...

 located in northern Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 and southern Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is part of the Columbia River Basin.

Course

The Raft River's headwaters are mostly on the east side of the Albion Mountains, southeast of Oakley, Idaho
Oakley, Idaho
Oakley is a city in Cassia County, Idaho, United States. The population was 763 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Burley, Idaho Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Oakley is located at , at 4,560 feet in elevation...

. But its Clear Creek tributary also drains the north side of the Raft River Mountains
Raft River Mountains
The Raft River Mountains are a mountain range in northern Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The ghost town of Yost is on the north central slopes. Tributaries of the Raft River drain the northern slopes of the range.-Geography:...

 in Utah and runoff from the nearby Grouse Creek Range also flows into the Raft River. The river flows generally north to join the Snake River in Cassia County, Idaho
Cassia County, Idaho
Cassia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 Census the county had a population of 22,952. The county seat and largest city is Burley.-History:...

.

Watershed

The Raft River's drainage basin
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 is approximately 1506 square miles (3,901 km²) in area, of which approximately 95% of the overall area is in Idaho.

History

The river is named after a crossing of the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...

 where pioneers built rafts out of whatever was available to aid in crossing the river. The river is presently dry for much of the year.

The Oregon Trail crossed the Raft River approximately 2 miles (3 km) south of Interstate 86
Interstate 86 (west)
Interstate 86 is an intrastate Interstate Highway, located entirely within the state of Idaho. It runs 63 miles from an intersection with Interstate 84 located approximately 7 miles east of Declo in rural Cassia County, to an intersection with Interstate 15 at Pocatello...

. At the top of the bluff above Raft River the "Parting of the Ways" took place. The Oregon Trail continued west and the California Trail
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...

 headed south. Graves of those who died from being mortally wounded at Massacre Rocks can be found in the same area along the river. The Clark Massacre
Clark Massacre
In August, 1851, a band of Shoshoni led by Cho-Cho-Co, also known as Has No Horse, attacked a wagon train led by Thomas Clark on the Oregon Trail near where the Raft River joins the Snake River in present day Idaho. The Indian’s primary objective, which was accomplished, was to steal horses...

 of 1851 took place near the Raft River itself.

The Raft River also was a turning point for the Emigrants. They would see the Raft as a separating place.

See also

  • List of rivers of Idaho
  • List of rivers of Utah
  • Tributaries of the Columbia River
    Tributaries of the Columbia River
    Tributaries and sub-tributaries are hierarchically listed in order from the mouth of the Columbia River upstream. Major dams and reservoir lakes are also noted.-Minor tributaries:* Skipanon River * Lewis and Clark River * Youngs River...


External links

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