Shoshone Falls Cascade Again After Six Years

The waterfalls known as the “Niagara of the West” roared back to life last week for the first time in six years with the release of water from upstream dams to aid salmon migration.

The flow over the 214-foot-high Shoshone Falls followed an unusually rainy spring in southern Idaho that filled reservoirs in the Upper Snake River Basin to more than 80% of capacity.

That allowed the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to release additional water. It was the first time since 2001 that the dam management agency had been able to provide the full amount of water set forth in a federal-tribal agreement. The drought stretched back to 1999.

“Compared to all the mountains, rivers and canyons we’ve seen, I think this is the most impressive,” said June Burelison of Winchester, Ind., who was visiting the falls Thursday.