Nature
Hells Canyon is a vast gorge along the Snake River on the Oregon-Idaho border, with a small reach touching Washington, and at 7,993 feet deep it is North America’s deepest river gorge. Shaped by a long geologic history and later flood events, it contrasts forested rims and mountain peaks with a dry canyon bottom. Indigenous peoples, including the Nez Percé, Shoshone-Bannock, northern Paiute, and Cayuse, lived in and traveled through this country for generations. Explorers and miners struggled with its isolation, and in 1887 thirty-four Chinese miners were murdered there. Dams later transformed the river, and in 1975 the national recreation area was created to protect its scenic and wild character.
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Wallowa Lake, Oregon · United States
