Explore Bruneau River, Idaho

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The Bruneau is formed from the Jarbidge River, which flows north from the mountains of northern Nevada through the beautiful basalt and rhyolite canyons of the Owyhee Uplands. There, it joins the West Fork of the Bruneau, then the East and West Forks join to form the mainstem. 40 miles of the Bruneau River are designated wild, and a 0.6-mile stretch at the Indian Hot Springs access point is designated recreational. The combination of sparkling water, steep multi-colored cliffs and an interesting association of plants and animals make this desert canyon one of superior natural beauty and recreational appeal. The Bruneau River also provides challenging whitewater as it flows through a deep, wild and remote desert canyon. The Bruneau and Jarbidge Rivers have a national reputation among paddlers for their outstandingly remarkable float boating and associated experiences along the designated river sections, notably multi-day river trip options that feature remote, challenging whitewater (Class III, IV and V). Only very experienced boaters should float the 69 miles of the Bruneau and Jarbidge rivers due to challenging rapids, log jams and other hazards. Landscape forms on the Bruneau and throughout the Owyhee Canyonlands vary from broad, open sagebrush steppes to narrow canyons, some exceeding 800 feet in depth.The canyons are dominated by a mixture of high, vertical lines and forms of coarse-textured, red, brown, or blackish eroded cliffs, often glazed with yellow to light green micro-flora. Steep diagonal lines frame triangular forms associated with talus slopes which feature yellow and subdued green sagebrush-bunchgrasses, dark green juniper, medium-textured, reddish rhyolite rubble fields and coarse-textured, blackish basalt rubble fields. Large boulders and whitewater rapids are interspersed between the calm reaches.

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