Snake & Clearwater Confluence Site

From this overlook one can see the vast expanse of the Nez Perce homeland - the Snake and Clearwater Rivers, Hells Canyon and on a clear day, glimpses of the Bitterroot and Wallowa Mountains. The Clearwater River joins the Snake River at Lewiston, continuing to the Columbia 100 miles to the west. All of the water you see will eventually drain to the Pacific Ocean. Today, four dams on the Snake River allow barge traffic to come 400 miles up from Portland, Oregon all the way to Lewiston, Idaho.

Though their numbers are reduced, in a centuries old tradition, salmon still migrate up the river to lay their eggs. The Nez Perce used the Clearwater and its tributaries as a super highway of sorts, traveling up and down the river to visit relatives, trade, and fish. These river basins also had beavers, attracting fur traders on the heels of Lewis and Clark.