Photos
BADLANDS
Over millions of years the Snake River has cut a deep gorge in the lava crust of what is now southwestern Idaho. In some areas the walls of the Snake River Canyon are accented with white patches of "Bandlands" with white soil so alkaline and sterile not even the hardiest of desert plants can survive. In the summer, temperatures rise to the point where they boil the blood of any rattlesnake foolish enough to leave the shade of surrounding rock outcroppings. No wonder the early day emigrants considered this section of the journey the worst on the entire Oregon Trail.
