Lemhi River

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Lemhi River
Country	United States
State	Idaho
Counties	Lemhi
Major cities	Leadore, Salmon
Length	70 mi (113 km) ^[1]
Watershed	1,216 sq mi (3,149 km²) ^[2]
Discharge at	near mouth at Salmon, ID
- average	251 cu ft/s (7.11 m³/s) ^[2]
- maximum	2,610 cu ft/s (73.91 m³/s)
- minimum	0.75 cu ft/s (0.02 m³/s)
Source
- coordinates	44°40′56″N 113°21′17″W / 44.68222, -113.35472 ^[3]
- elevation	5,954 ft (1,815 m) ^[4]
Mouth	Salmon River
- location	Salmon
- coordinates	45°11′17″N 113°54′23″W / 45.18806, -113.90639 ^[3]
- elevation	3,900 ft (1,189 m) ^[4]

The Lemhi River is a river in Idaho in the United States. It is a tributary of the Salmon River, which in turn is tributary to the Snake River and Columbia River.

1 Course
2 River modification
3 History
4 See also
5 References

[edit] Course

From its source near Leadore and the confluence of several headwater streams, the Lemhi River flows generally northwest, through the Lemhi Valley, between the Lemhi Range to the west, and the Bitterroot Range and Beaverhead Mountains to the west. The Lemhi River flows into the Salmon River at the city of Salmon.

[edit] River modification

The water of the Lemhi River and its tributaries is used for irrigation agriculture. Of the river's mainstem tributaries, only 7% are not totally disconnected year round due to diversion for irrigation.^[5]

[edit] History

In August 1805 Lewis and Clark crossed the continental divide at the Lemhi Pass 10 miles to the east of the Lemhi River. There, the group encountered a tribe of Shoshone indians, one of whom turned out to be Cameahwait, brother of Sacagawea. The expedition sent a reconnaissance party North along the Lemhi to the Salmon River attempting to find a navigable path, but turned back when they found that the Salmon was not passable by boat or on land. ^[6]