Salmon Dam - Idaho Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Close to the Nevada border, Idaho’s potato fields give way to sagebrush and desert. And in the middle of it is a tiny reservoir. The marker is along highway 93, but to get to the reservoir, one has to take a 4 mile dirt road. The turnoff is at N 42°07.783' W 114° 41.131'

The dam was only a partial success. Porous lava canyon walls let water escape around it, and lack of rainfall in Nevada’s desert above here provided less than enough moisture for this reservoir. It did not fill up until more than seventy years later.

Sorry, we can't give you the exact year the reservoir was filled since that number is the answer to a virtual cache at the same location.

The Reservoir

Marker Name: Salmon Dam Marker Type: Roadside Marker Text: Constructed in 1910 about 8 miles west from here, Salmon Dam was a spectacular early irrigation structure. 220 feet high it blocks a narrow lava gorge of Salmon Falls Creek. Intended to create a large reservoir to irrigate desert lands north of here, it was only a partial success. Porous lava canyon walls let water escape around it, and lack of rainfall in Nevada’s desert above here provided less than enough moisture for this reservoir. It did not fill up until %$#@ (see main text above). County: Twin Falls Marker Number: 240 City: Not listed Date Dedicated: Not listed Group Responsible for Placement: Not listed Web link(s) for additional information: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
In your log, please say if you learned something new, and if you took any extra time to explore the area once you stopped at the historic marker waymark. If possible please post a photo of you OR your GPS at the marker location. Also if you know of any additional links not already mentioned about this bit of Idaho history please include that in your log.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   04/16/2023 biscuitt bunch visited it 04/25/2022 makeme visited it 08/07/2021 drgw3128 visited it 10/17/2020 Rock Chalk visited it 10/17/2019 Awol visited it 05/19/2017 tnwave visited it 05/23/2014 jimnade visited it 06/21/2009 yoyo ken visited it 10/16/2007 Chooch72 visited it 07/09/2006 Bernd das Brot Team visited it

View all visits/logs