Shoshone Falls - The Niagara of the West

There's something about waterfalls that fascinate me and I think many other people. I recently had the chance to see the "Niagara of the West", Shoshone Falls in southern Idaho. These falls are on the Snake River just about 5 miles east of the city of Twin Falls. It is 45 feet higher than Niagara and before its damming had a higher volume than Niagara as well. Pretty impressive but somehow it fell under my radar and I never realized it was here until my trip to Twin Falls.

I've lived near the Snake River now for a few years and have always thought of the deep canyons being up my way. Hells Canyon (deeper than the Grand Canyon) is just outside Lewiston, ID and I've hiked that and seen just how awesome it is. But for some reason, I always thought that the Snake River in southern Idaho was more or less level with the plains. And driving through the area on the highway doesn't indicate that there is a deep canyon nearby at all. You can't see anything but fairly flat land for miles and miles. (This is where all those Idaho Potatoes are grown by the way).

The view one miles from the falls

So when I was in Twin Falls for a conference and was looking for stuff to do in the area I came upon Shoshone Falls. The quick drive was through farm fields and the horizon was very far away - pretty flat. Then the road turned a bit and all of a sudden I was looking into a mighty impressive canyon. It was like a little hidden gem. The ground opens up and the Snake River is a couple hundred feet below. Granted, the canyon isn't anywhere near the depth of Hells Canyon but the contrast with the flat land all around is impressive.

Evel Knievel jumped the canyon here in 1972

The falls are within a city park and only costs $3 to get in. There are trails along the rim of the canyon and overlooks too. The falls and surrounding canyons are gorgeous. Sadly, there are some private houses on the opposite side of the canyon marring the view. And the visible dam that harnesses the water for power didn't exactly add to the scene. Nonetheless, it was impressive. I've never been to Niagara so I can't really comment on how it compares but I am going to guess that Niagara actually does beat it for overall size and visual impact.

Here are a few fun facts about waterfalls I found on www.worldwaterfalldatabase.com

Shoshone Falls are

• The 25th widest falls in the world at 900ft.
• The widest falls are on the Mekong River and are about 6 miles wide.
• Niagara Falls are the 13th widest at 3950 feet

• 212 feet high which is 45 feet higher than Niagara
• No where close to being among the tallest in the world. The top 100 falls in the world are all at least 1600 feet tall. And Neither Shoshone or Niagara are within the top 600 falls in the world for height.

Luna loved the falls too

One of these days I may have to write about Celilo Falls. They were once the largest most powerful falls in the US. They were along the Columbia River in Washington and would be considered the 10th widest falls in the world and the falls with the 6th greatest volume in the world. Beyond the physical nature of the falls they also had a very significant role in the lives of the people that were here before European settlers arrived and dammed the Columbia for power and irrigation . Since the 1950s when the Dalles Dam was constructed the falls have been between 20 and 120 feet below water.