Scenic Idaho Owes Its Beauty to Fierce Suitors of Pre-historic Ice Sheet and Volcanic Ages
Much has been written about the beautiful and rugged scenery of the Far West; of the mighty groves of the California Redwood and giant Sequoia Trees and snow-covered high Sierra Mountain peaks; of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River; of the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming; of the mighty Puget Sound of Washington; and of the Glacier National Park of Montana.
Idaho, perhaps even more than the other great and mighty localities in the West, presents a marvelous diversity not only in scenery comparable to these, but also in soil, climate, and natural resources. Idaho contains rugged beauty only slightly inferior to such spectacles as the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, or the grand Niagara Falls which straddles the United States (New York) border with Canada. In the midst of these Idaho treasures abound natural resources and extensive farming and ranching areas unexcelled anywhere else on this earth.
A story is told about the crude strength of Idaho wherein two travelers crossing Idaho on the same day, one by the Northern Pacific Railroad and the other by the Oregon Short Line Railroad would each receive quite opposite impressions of the state. The man who had traversed its northern end would think of Idaho as a land of dense forests filled with huge trees, mirrored in the surfaces of beautiful pristine lakes, of narrow deep valleys presenting only a meager scope for agriculture and animal husbandry; of abundant verdure and Alpine scenery teeming with all types and kinds of fish and wildlife. These conditions suggest little except recreation, lumber camps and logging operations, mining activities, and a great summertime livestock grazing range.
The traveler who crossed the southern half the state, on the other hand, would receive the impression of an arid land, with wide stretches of valley and adjoining plain, covered with wild grasses or sage brush, alternating with curious and widely varied formations of rock strata. This traveler would easily understand how a large agricultural population may be maintained by turning the waters of rivers and streams upon the rich valley soils.
Both of these impressions of our great inland state of the Pacific Northwest would, in fact, be equally true, but either of them taken alone, as is often done by modern day travelers, is not actually adequate.
Throughout the central portion of Idaho, and along it’s eastern border, nature has piled up a jumble of massive mountains and greatly dissected plateaus. The entire area is covered with dense growths of widely varying species of coniferous forests. These blessed gifts treasure winter’s snowfall in their somber depths until the summer sends it down through rushing streams and rivers ever so beautiful in their mad, turbulent courses reaching through hundreds of miles of lower valley lands and elevations. This event is known as the spring run off. Numerous roaring waterfalls, wild white foaming cataracts, with blue green silvery stretches of deep channels walled up inside black gorges of gray granite or basaltic lava rock, are common scenes in Idaho’s upland and alpine regions.
If a good poet were ever in a mood to spin a beautiful legendary yarn or two, he would perhaps tell a tale of how our fair Idaho was once wooed by two noble and grand suitors both of whom came to her out of the far and rugged northlands. That the suitor who first wooed her was none other than the comely giant known by men as the “Cordillera Ice,” and the other who became a later, but far more persistent rival for the affections of our fair maiden, was a younger cousin of his,…known by the name of 
“Keewatin Ice Sheet.” That each of these two remarkable swains, in turn, after loving Idaho in a wild fierce manner, hung about her slender neck a lovely strand of silver threads adorned with diamond lakes which can be seen to this day, sparkling and scintillating with a bluish green hue under the azure skies high above. The largest and perhaps the best known of the gorgeous gems is the lovely Lake Pend Oreille, called Idaho’s “ear-ring Lake.” It’s sparkling waters fill what was once a very deep river canyon studded with exquisitely wooded mountains which rise up precipitously from its water’s edge. It is laced about Idaho’s neck with the beautiful silver stream called the Clark Fork River. Others of the priceless gems similarly set and stranded are the beautiful Lake Coeur d’ Alene, Priest Lake, Hayden Lake, Spirit Lake, and the Twin Lakes.
That our fair Idaho must have responded to the wild caresses of these noble lovers is clearly shown by the once violent throbs now stilled in the fissures and cracks in the rocks of the “Craters of the Moon” lava rock areas of south central Idaho. Her emotions were stirred to such an extent and the palpitations of her heart were so great that her affections could scarcely be pent up within her bosom. Because of fickleness and inconstancy in love, or perhaps, because of the jealousy of Mother Nature herself, our young lovers withdrew and left fair Idaho to suffer a broken heart. And here in the Craters of the Moon we see fair Idaho poured out, upon her life’s blood, which congealed as it flowed out upon her bosom; and here we may look down into the very valves of her heart and see that they have been turned into ice caverns which even Mother Nature cannot thaw. Through the years, she alternately sheds upon them her motherly tears and the burning passion of her great heart–our sun.
The greatest centralizing feature of Idaho’s scenery throughout the southern part and along much of it’s western border is the Snake River and it’s tributaries. The Snake River deserves a more appropriate name in spite of the tortuous winding course which suggests it. In addition to furnishing Idaho with water and power, it provides her with nearly a thousand miles of magnificent and varied scenery. Unlike most rivers whose stories are said to “come from their mouths,” the heart and soul of the Snake is fashioned from the soul of the northern Rocky Mountains. Not satisfied to be parented by a series of jeweled mountain lakes bordering the geyser basin in the Yellowstone Park, Jackson Lake at the foot of the Teton Mountains in Wyoming, and Henry’s Lake in far south eastern Idaho,
the Snake River literally pours out from a great gash in the heart of the earth in the alluring and inspiring Big Springs area of eastern Idaho.
It spends its early youth in gliding gracefully along amid gentle slopes covered either by the blue white snows of winter or by the varied hues created by banks of mountain wild flowers in the summer. During early maturity it seems suddenly to have awakened to its destiny to serve mankind, and jumps eagerly and determinedly to the task. It rushes pell-mell down the rugged mountain slopes as if it were hurrying to be of service. In maturity it has become a bold giant tracing its course through an extensive lava rock plateau-plain. 
In much of the distance of its long sweep across this wandering plain, it has imbedded itself in a deep black steep-walled, chasm-like gorge threaded with a with a number of treacherous rapids and spilling over lofty falls. Here and there it breaks out of its self-imposed prison to laugh at the parched purple sage-covered plains or to wink at the blue-rimmed mountains in the distance or possibly just to beckon to man. All along it’s course it receives numerous mountain streams which fairly leap from the surrounding mountains or from live gurgling springs to mingle with it their pure cold sparkling waters.
Along the western border of the state the river hides itself in a deep, rugged canyon. It seems to say, “Now that I have served man, I deserve a long holiday where I can be alone to think my own thoughts and to pursue my favorite sports.” The canyon gorge through which it plunges is comparable to that of the Grand Canyon of Arizona, being deeper and narrower from rim to rim than that more famous one in the southwestern Untied States. It’s extremely steep rock walls are chiefly of green-stone that are broken here and there by intrusions of basaltic and audesitic lavas, and small quantities of argillite slate, schists, and lime-stone marble. Aside from the impressive boldness of the steep dark colored slopes, perhaps the most striking feature of the canyon is the extreme roughness of the solid rock faces. The mighty river narrows here and there–in places appearing from a distance like a small turbulent mountain stream.
The Snake River, after leaving the Idaho boundary at Lewiston, becomes navigable to its confluence with the Columbia River, and will today furnish a water and shipping route through to the Pacific Ocean.
The Snake River near present day Twin Falls, Idaho has been well described in the following manner:
“It seems like a terrifying symphony that appears to our senses, first as a distant murmur and then comes nearer and grows louder until it deafens us with its magnificence and its silence. As our eyes continue to gaze the landscape we feel the canyon and its visible music pass beneath our feet and watch it gradually subside in the distant hush from which it arose.
This canyon might well be described as the Lost Chord from Nature’s Symphony.”
From this survey of Idaho’s scenery, we can see how it combines utility and pleasure. The irrigation projects are good illustrations of this fact.
The Arrowrock Project, on the Boise River, forms a summer lake about 18 miles long extending into the mountains of the Boise National Forest. It is flanked by granite hills and bordered near the upper end with scattered pines. It offers a scene of rare beauty and furnishes ample opportunities for fishing, camping, hunting, boating, hiking, and fellowship with nature for parties of vacationists. The tributary streams and river forks are filled with both stocked and naturally reproduced rainbow and eastern brook trout which winter in the depths of the reservoir. There are deer and elk and upland game birds in the hills from which the headwaters of the river spring. A good automobile highway along the river leads from Boise to Arrowrock dam, and a narrower forest service road continues along the shoreline to the upper end of the reservoir, making campsites easily accessible. A spectacular feature of the dam is the storage water which, in falling over the spillway, creates a massive and beautiful water-fall. This magnificent view particularly during the spring run-off has attracted even more attention than does the boating and camping facilities.
The Deer Flat Project forms an inland reservoir between the Boise and Snake Rivers, and is conveniently accessible to the surrounding farming regions. Occasionally some very high and powerful winds will appear over the body of water that will lash the water into foaming whitecaps. The lake is well stocked with yellow perch, catfish, bass, and crappie. Many other kinds of fish are taken in the canal and drain ditches below the reservoir. The reservoir furnishes and excellent opportunity for the use of outboard motors, fishing, swimming, and since the federal government has set an area aside as a bird and wildfowl sanctuary, myriads of waterfowl use it as a resting place during their annual winter and spring migration. Lake Walcott, Gray’s Lake, American Falls Reservoir, are similarly used.
Summing up the beauty of our state, we may best describe it’s scenery as grand, breath-taking, and spectacular. The sunset colors in this arid region are beautiful beyond description. Its blue-gray, white-crowned mountains can be seen on a clear day from almost any spot. Strangely formed cliffs, deep canyons, lofty peaks, clear silvery streams, imposing waterfalls without number, crystal-clear mountain lakes, ice caves, mountain springs, and extensive lava flows, are the outstanding physical features which make Idaho rival the dreams of any landscape artist. As well it should. I mean after all, WHO originally designed it?
Peace And Love to All of You…………………….Poppa Bear