South Fork Salmon River
| South Fork Salmon River | |
 Rafters on the South Fork Salmon River
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Idaho |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Secesh River |
| - right | East Fork, Elk Creek |
| Source | near Monumental Peak |
| - location | Salmon River Mountains, Valley County |
| - elevation | 7,600 ft (2,316 m) |
| - coordinates | 44°28′47″N 115°41′06″W / 44.47972°N 115.68500°W |
| Mouth | Salmon River |
| - location | near Mackay Bar, Idaho County |
| - elevation | 2,146 ft (654 m) |
| - coordinates | 45°22′40″N 115°30′47″W / 45.37778°N 115.51306°WCoordinates: 45°22′40″N 115°30′47″W / 45.37778°N 115.51306°W |
| Length | 86 mi (138 km) |
| Basin | 1,309 sq mi (3,390 km2) |
| Discharge | for Mackay Bar |
| - average | 1,983 cu ft/s (56 m3/s) |
| - max | 21,600 cu ft/s (612 m3/s) |
| - min | 318 cu ft/s (9 m3/s) |
 Map showing the Salmon River basin. The South Fork is the second major tributary from left.
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The South Fork Salmon River is an 86-mile (138 km) tributary of the Salmon River in Idaho and Valley Counties in central Idaho. The river drains a rugged, lightly populated wilderness watershed in the Salmon River Mountains. It is the second-largest tributary of the Salmon River, after the Middle Fork.
Beginning near 7,902-foot (2,409 m) Monumental Peak in the Boise National Forest, the river flows generally north to its confluence with the Salmon near Mackay Bar, about 135 miles (217 km) above the larger river's mouth on the Snake River. About midway along its course, it is joined by its two main tributaries – the East Fork South Fork Salmon River from the east, and the Secesh River from the west. The river receives runoff from a total of 1,309 square miles (3,390 km2) of land, ranging in elevation from 9,322 feet (2,841 m) at North Loon Mountain to 2,146 feet (654 m) at the mouth of the river.
The Native Americans living along the river were the Nez Perce, Shoshone, Bannock and Paiute. The river and its valley were used largely as a place for fishing, hunting and gathering, while local hot springs provided camping sites during the winter.
The first recorded Europeans to see the South Fork may have been a group of mountain men working under the American Fur Company in 1831. They crossed the upper part of the river while reconnoitering the western part of the Salmon River system for good beaver streams. In the 1860s, prospectors discovered gold on the South Fork, leading to the initial settlement of the drainage by Westerners. After the gold rush faded, a few of the miners stayed on as homesteaders and ranchers.
The drainage was heavily logged from the 1940s to the mid-1960s, when an estimated 320 million board feet of timber was taken from the basin. More than 800 miles (1,300 km) of logging roads were constructed across the drainage.
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Wikipedia