Salmon River - Lower, ID

The Salmon River is located in Idaho in the northwestern United States. The Salmon is also known as The River of No Return. It flows for 425 miles (684 km) through central Idaho, draining 14,000 square miles (36,260 km2) and dropping more than 7,000 feet (2,134 m) between its headwaters, near Galena Summit above the Sawtooth Valley in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, and its confluence with the Snake River. Its discharge is 11,060 cubic feet (313 m3) per second. It is the largest tributary of the Snake River, ahead of the Clearwater River. Cities located along the Salmon River include Stanley, Clayton, Challis, Salmon, Riggins, and White Bird. Redfish Lake and Little Redfish Lake near Stanley flow into the river via Redfish Lake Creek.

The headwaters of the Salmon River are in the mountains of central and eastern Idaho (Lemhi Range, Sawtooth, Salmon River Mountains, Clearwater and Bitterroot Range). The main fork of the Salmon is joined by the Yankee Fork, East Fork, Pahsimeroi, Lemhi, North Fork, Middle Fork, South Fork, and Little Salmon Rivers before emptying into the Snake River on the Oregon-Idaho border, north of Hells Canyon, 15 miles (24 km) south of Washington and 40 miles (64 km) south of Lewiston. The Middle Fork of the Salmon River is one of the premier recreational rafting and kayaking rivers in the world.

Ten miles (16 km) downstream (west) of its confluence with the Middle Fork, the Salmon River becomes the dividing line for the two time zones in Idaho: Mountain time to the south, Pacific time to the north, bisecting the state at approximately 45.5 degrees north latitude.