Description
1078 miles long. Lowest elevation in ID at 710 feet near Nec Perce, ID on the Clarkson Quadrangle at the mouth of the Clearwater River. Heads in Jackson Lake in the Grand Tetons in Wyoming; flows through Idaho and along the Oregon border, to enter the Columbia River in Washington. The uppermost part of the stream, from the point where Henrys Fork enters, is referred to informally as the South Fork Snake River.
History
Name possibly derived from an S-shaped (snake) sign which the Shoshone Indians made with their hands to mimic swimming salmon.