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Bear River (Utah)
Encyclopedia
The Bear River is a river
, approximately 491 miles (790.2 km) long, in southwestern Wyoming
, southeastern Idaho
, and northern Utah
, in the United States
. The largest tributary of the Great Salt Lake
, it drains a mountainous area and farming valleys northeast of the lake and southeast of the Snake River Plain
. It is also the largest river in North America
that does not ultimately reach the sea.
. It rises in northeastern Utah in several short forks on the north side of the high Uinta Mountains
in southern Summit County
. The main stem
Bear River begins at the confluence of two tributaries, Hayden Fork and Stillwater Fork. The Hayden Fork originates north of Hayden Pass, just west of Hayden Peak
. The Stillwater Fork originates in Middle Basin, a plateau with an elevation of about 10000 feet (3,048 m) and surrounded by the high peaks of Mount Agassiz
, Hayden Peak, and Spread Eagle Peak. One of the Stillwater Fork's tributaries is called Main Fork, which originates in another high–altitude basin called Hell Hole.
From its source the Bear River flows north cutting across the southwest corner of Wyoming past Evanston
then weaving along the Utah-Wyoming state line as it flows north. It turns northwest into Bear Lake County, Idaho
and flows through the Bear Lake Valley in Idaho, past Montpelier
where it receives the short Bear Lake Outlet Canal that drains Bear Lake, which straddles the Idaho-Utah border. At Soda Springs
, near the north end of the Wasatch Range, the Bear River turns abruptly south, flowing past Preston
in the broad Cache Valley
that extends north from Logan, Utah
. It re-enters northern Utah, meandering south past Cornish
and Newton
. It is impounded to form the Cutler Reservoir
, where it receives the Little Bear River
from the south. From the west end of Cutler Reservoir it flows south through the Bear River Valley of Utah past Bear River City
. It receives the Malad River
from the north just before emptying into the mud flats of a broad bay on the east side of the Great Salt Lake, approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) southwest of Brigham City
.
Bear River was once a tributary of the Snake River, but lava flows north of Soda Springs, Idaho
diverted it into what was then Lake Bonneville
.
in the farming valleys through which it flows in its lower reaches in Idaho and northern Utah.
The lower 10 miles (16.1 km) of the river near its delta on the Great Salt Lake are protected as part of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
.
people. Fur trappers
from the Hudson's Bay Company
began to penetrate the area, exploring south from the Snake River
as early as 1812. John C. Frémont
explored the area in 1843, and the Mormon Trail
crossed the Bear River south of Evanston. The California
and Oregon
Trails followed the Bear River north out of Wyoming to Fort Hall
in Idaho. Some of the travelers on the trails chose to stay, populating the Bear River Valleys of Idaho and Utah. The Cache Valley was an early destination for Mormon
pioneers in the late 1840s. On January 29, 1863 troops of the United States Army
attacked a Shoshone winter village in the Cache Valley, slaughtering many of its inhabitants. The incident has come to be known as the Bear River Massacre
.
The Bear River was surveyed through the Cache Divide for diversion and irrigation in 1868. After the First Transcontinental Railroad
was completed in 1869, the Central Pacific
was given over a third of the land in the Bear River Valley through land grants. Alexander Toponce
purchased 52000 acres (210.4 km²) of this land in 1883 for $65,000. He and John W. Kerr created the Corinne Mill, Canal and Stock Company and ultimately owned 90000 acres (364.2 km²) of land in the area. John R. Bothwell purchased much of this land in 1888. Bothwell created the Jarvis-Conklin Mortgage and Trust Company with Samuel M. Jarvis and Roland R. Conklin, with $2 million on mortgage bonds. The majority of these bonds were bought by Quaker societies in Scotland, England, and Ireland. This money was used to create a diversion dam and irrigation canals, employing 7000 men in late 1889. The company also bought the Ogden City Water Works.
The company went bankrupt by 1893, and bondholders reorganized into the Bear River Irrigation and Ogden Water Works Company with W. H. Rowe as president. Part of the canal project was then purchased by the Bear River Land Company, and part of the irrigation project by the Bear River Irrigation Company.
After the success of the Utah Sugar Company growing operations and factory in Lehi
, farmers in the Bear River Valley began to experiment growing sugar beets. This was successful, so Thomas R. Cutler, George Austin, and Mosiah Evans, executives at the Utah Sugar Company, purchased a portion of the Bear River Irrigation Company and organized the Bear River Land, Orchard and Sugar Beet Company in 1900. Cutler authorized the purchase of the entire Bear River Irrigation Company, plus an option on 31200 acres (126.3 km²) of land from the Bear River Land Company, in 1901. This was financed by issuing and selling $500,000 in new stock in the Utah Sugar Company. Shortly, 50000 acres (202.3 km²) were being irrigated and farmed.
Utah Sugar expanded the east canal between 1902 and 1905, installed a hydroelectric plant on the Bear River, and installed a 2700 horsepower water pump on the west canal. They also negotiated with the Oregon Short Line to construct a railroad from Corinne
16 miles (26 km) north to Garland
, which was completed in 1903. Utah Sugar built a sugar beet processing factory in 1903 also, using the newly constructed rail line to transport the necessary machinery.
Utah Sugar's water rights, dams, hydroelectric plant, and transmission lines were purchased by Utah Power and Light Company in December 1912 for $1.75 million. Utah Sugar purchased the canals on both sides of the Bear River in 1920 and controlled them at least through the 1960s.
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
, approximately 491 miles (790.2 km) long, in southwestern Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, southeastern Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, and northern Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The largest tributary of the Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its...
, it drains a mountainous area and farming valleys northeast of the lake and southeast of the Snake River Plain
Snake River Plain
The Snake River Plain is a geologic feature located primarily within the state of Idaho in the United States of America. It stretches about westward from northwest of the state of Wyoming to the Idaho-Oregon border. The plain is a wide flat bow-shaped depression, and covers about a quarter of Idaho...
. It is also the largest river in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
that does not ultimately reach the sea.
Course
The course of the river essentially makes a large inverted U around the north end of the Wasatch RangeWasatch Range
The Wasatch Range is a mountain range that stretches approximately from the Utah-Idaho border, south through central Utah in the western United States. It is generally considered the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Great Basin region...
. It rises in northeastern Utah in several short forks on the north side of the high Uinta Mountains
Uinta Mountains
The Uinta Mountains are a high chain of mountains in northeastern Utah and extreme northwestern Colorado in the United States. A subrange of the Rocky Mountains, they are unusual for being the highest range in the contiguous United States running east to west, and lie approximately east of Salt...
in southern Summit County
Summit County, Utah
Summit County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah, occupying a rugged and mountainous area. In 2010 its population was 36,324. It is part of the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Salt Lake City–Ogden–Clearfield Combined Statistical Area. The county is...
. The main stem
Main Stem
"Main Stem" is 1942 instrumental by Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra. Although recorded in 1942, the single would not be released until 1944 where it was Duke Ellington's last of four number one's on the Harlem Hit Parade. "Main Stem" would also peak at number twenty on the pop chart"Main...
Bear River begins at the confluence of two tributaries, Hayden Fork and Stillwater Fork. The Hayden Fork originates north of Hayden Pass, just west of Hayden Peak
Hayden Peak
Hayden Peak is a peak in the western Uinta Mountain Range. The mountain is home to mountain goats, pika, and many species of wildflowers. The peak is named for Ferdinand Hayden, an American geologist noted for his pioneering surveying expeditions of the Rocky Mountains in the late 19th century....
. The Stillwater Fork originates in Middle Basin, a plateau with an elevation of about 10000 feet (3,048 m) and surrounded by the high peaks of Mount Agassiz
Mount Agassiz (Utah)
Mount Agassiz is a peak in the Uinta Mountain Range. Its elevation is 12,248 feet. It is named after Louis Agassiz,a well-known paleontologist, glaciologist and geologist....
, Hayden Peak, and Spread Eagle Peak. One of the Stillwater Fork's tributaries is called Main Fork, which originates in another high–altitude basin called Hell Hole.
From its source the Bear River flows north cutting across the southwest corner of Wyoming past Evanston
Evanston, Wyoming
Evanston is a city in Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 12,359 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Uinta County.-Geography:Evanston is located at...
then weaving along the Utah-Wyoming state line as it flows north. It turns northwest into Bear Lake County, Idaho
Bear Lake County, Idaho
Bear Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 6,411 . The county seat is Paris, and Montpelier is the largest city....
and flows through the Bear Lake Valley in Idaho, past Montpelier
Montpelier, Idaho
Montpelier is a city in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,785 at the 2000 census. The city is the largest community in the Bear Lake Valley, a farming region north of Bear Lake in southeastern Idaho along the Utah border...
where it receives the short Bear Lake Outlet Canal that drains Bear Lake, which straddles the Idaho-Utah border. At Soda Springs
Soda Springs, Idaho
Soda Springs is a city in Caribou County, Idaho, United States. The population was 3,381 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Caribou County....
, near the north end of the Wasatch Range, the Bear River turns abruptly south, flowing past Preston
Preston, Idaho
Preston is a city in Franklin County, Idaho, United States. The population was 4,682 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Franklin County. It is part of the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
in the broad Cache Valley
Cache Valley
The Cache Valley is an agricultural valley of northern Utah and southeast Idaho that includes the Logan metropolitan area. The valley was used by 19th century mountain men and was the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre.-History:...
that extends north from Logan, Utah
Logan, Utah
-Layout of the City:Logan's city grid originates from its Main and Center Street block, with Main Street running north and south, and Center east and west. Each block north, east, south, or west of the origin accumulates in additions of 100 , though some streets have non-numeric names...
. It re-enters northern Utah, meandering south past Cornish
Cornish, Utah
Cornish is a town in Cache County, Utah, United States. The population was 288 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Cornish is located at ....
and Newton
Newton, Utah
Newton is a town in Cache County, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1869 by LDS Pioneers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The population was 789 at the 2010 census...
. It is impounded to form the Cutler Reservoir
Cutler Reservoir
Cutler Reservoir is a reservoir located in Cache Valley in the U.S. state of Utah. It is an impoundment on the Bear River built for irrigation, flood control, and water supply...
, where it receives the Little Bear River
Little Bear River
The Little Bear River is a tributary of the Bear River in northern Utah in the United States. It rises in the mountains east of Brigham City, where three forks join at Avon, then flows north to Paradise...
from the south. From the west end of Cutler Reservoir it flows south through the Bear River Valley of Utah past Bear River City
Bear River City, Utah
Bear River City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 853 at the 2010 census, an increase over the 1990 population of 700. At the time this was sufficient under Utah state law for Bear River City to become a city, which it did at the end of 2000...
. It receives the Malad River
Malad River (Utah)
The Malad River is a tributary of the Bear River in southeastern Idaho and northern Utah in the United States. The river flows southward, beginning northwest of Malad City, Idaho, crosses the Idaho-Utah state line just north of Portage, Utah, flows through Tremonton, and empties into the Bear...
from the north just before emptying into the mud flats of a broad bay on the east side of the Great Salt Lake, approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) southwest of Brigham City
Brigham City, Utah
Brigham City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 17,899 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Box Elder County. It lies on the western slope of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range at the western terminus of Box Elder Canyon...
.
Bear River was once a tributary of the Snake River, but lava flows north of Soda Springs, Idaho
Soda Springs, Idaho
Soda Springs is a city in Caribou County, Idaho, United States. The population was 3,381 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Caribou County....
diverted it into what was then Lake Bonneville
Lake Bonneville
Lake Bonneville was a prehistoric pluvial lake that covered much of North America's Great Basin region. Most of the territory it covered was in present-day Utah, though parts of the lake extended into present-day Idaho and Nevada. Formed about 32,000 years ago, it existed until about 14,500 years...
.
Uses and protected areas
The river is used extensively for irrigationIrrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
in the farming valleys through which it flows in its lower reaches in Idaho and northern Utah.
The lower 10 miles (16.1 km) of the river near its delta on the Great Salt Lake are protected as part of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in Utah, established in 1927. Leased by the government from private property owners....
.
History
The river valley was inhabited by the ShoshoneShoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
people. Fur trappers
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
from the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
began to penetrate the area, exploring south from the Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
as early as 1812. John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
explored the area in 1843, and the Mormon Trail
Mormon Trail
The Mormon Trail or Mormon Pioneer Trail is the 1,300 mile route that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled from 1846 to 1868...
crossed the Bear River south of Evanston. The California
California Trail
The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California...
and Oregon
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
Trails followed the Bear River north out of Wyoming to Fort Hall
Fort Hall
Fort Hall, sitting athwart the end of the common stretch shared by the three far west emigrant trails was a 19th century outpost in the eastern Oregon Country, which eventually became part of the present-day United States, and is located in southeastern Idaho near Fort Hall, Idaho...
in Idaho. Some of the travelers on the trails chose to stay, populating the Bear River Valleys of Idaho and Utah. The Cache Valley was an early destination for Mormon
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
pioneers in the late 1840s. On January 29, 1863 troops of the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
attacked a Shoshone winter village in the Cache Valley, slaughtering many of its inhabitants. The incident has come to be known as the Bear River Massacre
Bear River Massacre
The Bear River Massacre, or the Battle of Bear River and the Massacre at Boa Ogoi, took place in present-day Idaho on January 29, 1863. The United States Army attacked Shoshone gathered at the confluence of the Bear River and Beaver Creek in what was then southeastern Washington Territory. The...
.
The Bear River was surveyed through the Cache Divide for diversion and irrigation in 1868. After the First Transcontinental Railroad
First Transcontinental Railroad
The First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
was completed in 1869, the Central Pacific
Central Pacific
Central Pacific can refer to:* The Central Pacific Railroad, the western part of the Transcontinental Railroad in the United States* The Central Pacific Area, a subdivision of the Pacific Ocean Areas in World War II...
was given over a third of the land in the Bear River Valley through land grants. Alexander Toponce
Alexander Toponce
Alexander Toponce was an American pioneer in the Intermountain West region of the United States.Toponce was born in Belfort, France. His family emigrated to the United States when he was seven...
purchased 52000 acres (210.4 km²) of this land in 1883 for $65,000. He and John W. Kerr created the Corinne Mill, Canal and Stock Company and ultimately owned 90000 acres (364.2 km²) of land in the area. John R. Bothwell purchased much of this land in 1888. Bothwell created the Jarvis-Conklin Mortgage and Trust Company with Samuel M. Jarvis and Roland R. Conklin, with $2 million on mortgage bonds. The majority of these bonds were bought by Quaker societies in Scotland, England, and Ireland. This money was used to create a diversion dam and irrigation canals, employing 7000 men in late 1889. The company also bought the Ogden City Water Works.
The company went bankrupt by 1893, and bondholders reorganized into the Bear River Irrigation and Ogden Water Works Company with W. H. Rowe as president. Part of the canal project was then purchased by the Bear River Land Company, and part of the irrigation project by the Bear River Irrigation Company.
After the success of the Utah Sugar Company growing operations and factory in Lehi
Lehi, Utah
-Attractions:Lehi Roller MillsLehi Roller Mills was founded in 1906 by a co-op of farmers. George G. Robinson purchased the mill in 1910, and since then it has remained in the family. It is run today by grandson R. Sherman Robinson....
, farmers in the Bear River Valley began to experiment growing sugar beets. This was successful, so Thomas R. Cutler, George Austin, and Mosiah Evans, executives at the Utah Sugar Company, purchased a portion of the Bear River Irrigation Company and organized the Bear River Land, Orchard and Sugar Beet Company in 1900. Cutler authorized the purchase of the entire Bear River Irrigation Company, plus an option on 31200 acres (126.3 km²) of land from the Bear River Land Company, in 1901. This was financed by issuing and selling $500,000 in new stock in the Utah Sugar Company. Shortly, 50000 acres (202.3 km²) were being irrigated and farmed.
Utah Sugar expanded the east canal between 1902 and 1905, installed a hydroelectric plant on the Bear River, and installed a 2700 horsepower water pump on the west canal. They also negotiated with the Oregon Short Line to construct a railroad from Corinne
Corinne, Utah
Corinne is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 685 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Corinne is located at ....
16 miles (26 km) north to Garland
Garland, Utah
Garland is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,400 at the 2010 census.-History:Garland was originally named Sunset and settled in 1890. The first settler was David E. Manning....
, which was completed in 1903. Utah Sugar built a sugar beet processing factory in 1903 also, using the newly constructed rail line to transport the necessary machinery.
Utah Sugar's water rights, dams, hydroelectric plant, and transmission lines were purchased by Utah Power and Light Company in December 1912 for $1.75 million. Utah Sugar purchased the canals on both sides of the Bear River in 1920 and controlled them at least through the 1960s.
See also
- Bear River State ParkBear River State ParkBear River State Park is a state park located just outside of Evanston, Wyoming, USA.The park was established in 1991, and takes its name from the river that runs through it. The Bear River, was named as such by trappers in the 19th century due to the many bears that frequented the area...
- List of rivers in the Great Basin
- List of Utah rivers
- Mormon TrailMormon TrailThe Mormon Trail or Mormon Pioneer Trail is the 1,300 mile route that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled from 1846 to 1868...
External links
- Bear River Watershed Historical Collection: Utah State University
- Utah History Encyclopedia: Bear River
- Utah History Encyclopedia: Bear River Massacre
- USFWS: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
- Bear River: A National Wildlife Refuge by V.T. Wilson and Rachel Carson (1950) (online pdf)
- Bear River Commission
- Bear River Flow Information
- Bear River Watershed Information System: Utah State University
- Bear River Watershed Information System Map Server: Utah State University