Thousand Springs. ISHS #69-4,219b

"Emigrants encountered Indians at Kanaka Rapids (called Fishing Falls by John C. Fremont in 1843). Here they traded with the Indians for fish. Early travelers also commented on the hot water encountered near the current recreational Banbury Springs complex and the Thousand Springs.

"Thousand Springs is a series of streams originating in the Snake River aquifer that gush from beneath the rimrock on the north bank of the Snake River and cascade into the river. They were once numerous enough to merit the name "Thousand Springs" and were a landmark noted by the emigrants. Today, nearly 100 springs are still plainly visible."

ETSI, p. 44

John Charles Fremont, October 10, 1843

"Our encampment was about one mile below the Fishing falls [Kanaka Rapids], a series of cataracts with very inclined planes, which are probably so named because they form a barrier to the ascent of the salmon; and the great fisheries from which the inhabitants of this barren region almost entirely derive a subsistence commence at this place."

"The river at this place is more open than for some distance above; and, for the time, the black precipices have disappeared, and no calcarcous matter is visible in the soil. The thermometer at sunset 74 degrees; clear and calm."

James Field, August 11, 1845

"Just below our present encampment on the opposite side of the river, were a number of as fine springs as were seen. They're near the top of the river bluff which is between 80 and 100 feet high and as the water bubbles down the nearly perpendicular rock, it forms a line of beautiful cascades along the dark walls of rock which here line the opposite shores of the river. If the hills around us were carpeted with grass instead of being covered with wormwood, this would be one of the prettiest spots on the globe for the study of a painter."

James Field Diary, 1845

Elizabeth Wood, August 15, 1851

"On the opposite side of the river from us is a spring flowing out of the wall of a rock, large enough to turn a mill; it is a very beautiful stream, clear as crystal, and runs so rapid-ly that it looks white as ice as it flows over the rock, and roars like a mill race. We got Salmon of the Indians here."

"The Journal of Elizabeth Wood," Covered Wagon Women, 5:39-135

Clear Springs Foods, 1999

Directions: Hwy 30 between Hagerman and Twin Falls: "Thousand Springs Scenic Byway."

Must see: Canyon walls where springs can still be seen; this is outflow from the Snake River aquifer. See Banbury Springs complex.

Current Observations/Journal Entry:

"Kanaka Rapids—named after Hawaiian trappers—was a site for fishing for the emigrants and the Native Americans; today there is a commercial fish farm called Clear Springs Foods. Niagra Springs— another site nearby...? Further on we are taken with the beauty of Thousand Springs, the waterfalls; the aquifer feeding these springs is fed by the Lost River. On the horizon looking east toward Thousand Springs, we see Mt. Harrison on the left and Cache Peak on the right."

Thousand Springs. ISHS #69-4.219c