Shoshone Bear River Winter Home

The Bear River, called Bia Ogoi or Big River by the Shoshone people, runs west and south through this semiarid valley and eventually empties into the Great Salt Lake. The river and its many tributaries create diverse natural habitats, from mountain forests to valley grasslands to wetlands, providing a wide range of plant and animal species. The site above was used by the Shoshone Indians as a winter home. It lies at the north end of Cache Valley, a fertile swath of land that runs south into Utah and is surrounded by 8,000-foot mountain ranges. Shoshone people called the area Mo-so-da Kahni, "Home of the Lungs." The geothermal activity and numerous hot springs here provided physical and spiritual rejuvenation for Shoshone families who used this site, and one of those hot springs is located just southwest of here.

Idaho · United States