List of longest streams of Idaho

A total of seventy streams that are at least long flow through the U.S. state of Idaho. All of these streams originate in the United States except the Kootenai River (third-longest) and the Moyie River (thirty-first-longest), both of which begin in the Canadian province of British Columbia. At , the Snake River is the longest and the only stream of more than in total length. It begins in Wyoming and flows through Idaho for , and then through Oregon and Washington. Some of the other streams also cross borders between Idaho and Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, or Wyoming, but the majority flow entirely within Idaho, the longest of which is the Salmon River at .

All but four of the streams lie within the large basin of the Columbia River, although the river itself does not flow through Idaho. Consequently, the predominant direction of the state's streamflow is northwest towards the Columbia River and its mouth at the Pacific Ocean. The only other major drainage basin in Idaho is the Great Salt Lake watershed in the state's southeastern corner, which is part of the Great Basin and has no outlet to the ocean. The Bear River, the second-longest stream, is within this watershed, along with the Malad River, Deep Creek, and the Logan River.

Source data for the table below comes from topographic maps created by the United States Geological Survey and published online by TopoQuest, and on the Idaho Road and Recreation Atlas, the National Hydrography Dataset, the Geographic Names Information System, and other sources as noted. In the table, total lengths are given in miles (mi) and kilometers (km).

Table

+Longest streams of IdahoRankNameMouthTotal lengthStream lengths are derived from high-resolution flowline data from the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) unless otherwise noted. Idaho NHD data may be downloaded here (453 MB zip file).Length in IdahoMouth coordinatesThe mouth coordinates, mouth elevation, and source coordinates are from the Geographic Names Information System (United States Geological Survey) listing for each stream except the Kootenai River (Canadian topographic maps) and the Moyie River (Canadian Geographical Names Data Base).Source coordinatesmikmmikm1Snake RiverColumbia River2Bear RiverGreat Salt Lake3Kootenai RiverColumbia RiverSource coordinates derived from Google Earth using data from Canadian topographic maps.4Salmon RiverSnake River5Owyhee RiverSnake River6Clark ForkPend Oreille Lake7Palouse RiverSnake River8Bruneau RiverSnake River9Saint Joe RiverCoeur d'Alene Lake10Big Wood RiverMalad River11Big Lost RiverBig Lost River Sinks12Blackfoot RiverSnake River13North Fork Clearwater RiverClearwater River14Little Wood RiverMalad River15Henrys ForkSnake River16South Fork Owyhee RiverOwyhee River17Portneuf RiverSnake River18Goose CreekSnake River19Salmon Falls CreekSnake River20Pend Oreille RiverColumbia River21Spokane RiverColumbia River22Raft RiverSnake River23Middle Fork Salmon RiverSalmon River24North Fork Payette RiverPayette River25Weiser RiverSnake River26Boise RiverSnake River27South Fork Boise RiverBoise River28Selway RiverMiddle Fork Clearwater River29Jordan CreekOwyhee River30Malad RiverBear River Note: Incomplete record. Source coordinates derived from Big Malad Spring.31Moyie RiverKootenai River32South Fork Salmon RiverSalmon River33Willow CreekSnake River34Salt RiverSnake River35Payette RiverSnake River36Teton RiverHenrys Fork37South Fork Payette RiverPayette River38Hangman CreekSpokane River39North Fork Coeur d'Alene RiverCoeur d'Alene River40Clearwater RiverSnake River41Deep CreekGreat Salt Lake42Union Flat CreekPalouse River43Succor CreekSnake River44Lochsa RiverMiddle Fork Clearwater River45Priest RiverPend Oreille River46Battle CreekOwyhee River47Bannock CreekSnake River48Indian CreekBoise River49Sailor CreekSnake River50Fall RiverHenrys Fork51Camas CreekBig Wood River52Camas CreekMud Lake53South Fork Clearwater RiverClearwater River54Sheep CreekBruneau River55Chief Eagle Eye CreekPayette River56Little Owyhee RiverSouth Fork Owyhee River57Lemhi RiverSalmon River58Pahsimeroi RiverSalmon River59Beaver CreekCamas Creek60Big Jacks CreekJacks Creek61Potlatch RiverClearwater River62Marsh CreekPortneuf River63Clover CreekBruneau River64Logan RiverLittle Bear River65Blue CreekOwyhee River66Middle Fork Boise RiverBoise River67Little Salmon RiverSalmon River68Jarbidge RiverBruneau River69Cow CreekJordan Creek70North Fork Boise RiverBoise River

Map

See also

List of rivers of Idaho List of longest rivers in the United States by state List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem)

Notes

References

Works cited

External links

Map of Idaho streams published by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality