Henrys Fork River
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The Henrys Fork River (also called the Henrys Fork of the Snake River) is a tributary of the Snake River, approximately 110 mi (177 km) long, in southeastern Idaho in the United States. It drains the northeastern corner of the Snake River Plain along the continental divide.
It rises out of Henrys Lake, west of Targhee Pass on the continental divide on the border with Montana. South of the lake, at Big Springs nearly 500,000 gallons of constant 52 degree water flow into the river each day. The river flows south through a high plateau in northern Fremont County, through the Targhee National Forest, and passes through Island Park Reservoir. In central Fremont County, after passing through Island Park Caldera, it descends swiftly, flowing over both Upper Mesa and Lower Mesa Falls, and emerges from the mountains onto the Snake River Plain near Ashton. It flows southwest across the plain, past St. Anthony, splitting into multiple channels into a broad inland delta north of Rexburg. It receives the Teton River from the east approximately 5 mi (8 km) west of Rexburg. It joins the Snake from the northeast approximately 10 mi (16 km) southwest of Rexburg.
Its headwaters are within 10 mi (16 km) of the headwaters of the Missouri River (on the Red Rock River and Madison River), located across the continental divide in Montana. Island Park Reservoir is used for irrigation in the Snake River Plain. It drainage provides one of the most important rainbow trout fisheries in Idaho in terms of habitat, fish populations, and use by anglers. The section of the river between Henry's Lake and Big Springs is a major spawning area for trout and is closed to fishing.
See also
External links
- Univ. of Montana: Henrys Fork Drainage (http://www.esg.montana.edu/gl/cst/112.00043.450110.58044.78012001560a.html)
- Idaho State University: Henrys Fork Drainage (http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/geog/fishery/drainage/drain29.htm)