Little Wood River (Idaho)

Little Wood River is a 130-mile-long (210 km)[4] river in south-central Idaho in the United States.[1] It is a tributary of the Malad River, which in turn is a tributary to the Snake River and Columbia River.

Little Wood River
McArthurs River & Wood River
Little Wood River, south of Richfield
Little Wood River (Idaho) is located in Idaho
Little Wood River (Idaho)
Location of the mouth of the Little Wood River in Idaho
Little Wood River (Idaho) is located in the United States
Little Wood River (Idaho)
Little Wood River (Idaho) (the United States)
Location
CountryUnited States
StateIdaho
RegionBlaine County, Lincoln County, Gooding County
Physical characteristics
SourcePioneer Mountains
 • locationBlaine County
 • coordinates43°45′41″N 114°0′13″W / 43.76139°N 114.00361°W / 43.76139; -114.00361[1]
 • elevation9,832 ft (2,997 m)[2]
MouthMalad River
 • location
Gooding County
 • coordinates
42°56′42″N 114°47′46″W / 42.94500°N 114.79611°W / 42.94500; -114.79611[1]
 • elevation
3,460 ft (1,050 m)[2]
Length130 mi (210 km)
Discharge 
 • locationbelow Little Wood Reservoir[3]
 • average351 cu ft/s (9.9 m3/s)[3]
 • minimum0.34 cu ft/s (0.0096 m3/s)
 • maximum2,900 cu ft/s (82 m3/s)

Description edit

The Little Wood River originates in the Pioneer Mountains of northern Blaine County, then flows south through Little Wood Reservoir near Carey. Below the reservoir the river flows south into Lincoln County, past Richfield, and then west, past Shoshone, after which it enters Gooding County. Just west of Gooding, the Little Wood River joins the Big Wood River to form the Malad River.

Its tributaries include Baugh Creek.[5]

The Little Wood River is the key source of irrigation water for eastern Blaine County and most of Lincoln County. Its water was a major attraction for the region's first permanent settlement at Carey. The river's water flow is regulated by reservoirs and affected by diversions of water into irrigation canals.

Variant names of the Little Wood River, according to the USGS, include McArthurs River and Wood River.[1]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Little Wood River
  2. ^ a b Google Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates.
  3. ^ a b Water Resource Data, Idaho, 2005, USGS.
  4. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 4, 2011
  5. ^ "Baugh Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.

External links edit

  Media related to Little Wood River (Idaho) at Wikimedia Commons