ID - Bruneau Cyn area

A close-up of the canyon floor. The tall trees, probably poplars, may mark the former site of a cabin. There are some ruins visible in the satellite view. The white material is a rock unit--not snow!--probably sedimentary. UPDATE: After checking the USGS 7.5' quad (Triguero Lake 1979), this was evidently the site of the Frank Triguero homestead--accessed only by pack trail from this point! The canyon is 1000 ft deep here, too--

Looking downstream (north). See enclosing photo for description.

On (unsurprisingly) the Bruneau River. The Bruneau rises in extreme northern Nevada in the Jarbidge Mountains (visible dimly on the skyline) and flows northward into Idaho, eventually joining the Snake River--itself a tributary to the Columbia. It has incised this canyon into the so-called Snake River Plain, one of several northward-draining streams to do so. The Snake River Plain is a high, arid plateau that's nearly flat aside from these canyons! It's underlain by a series of nearly flat-lying basalt flows, some of which appear as the prominent cliff layers in the canyon walls. The white stuff below the basalt cliffs is not snow! It's a light-colored rock unit, probably a sedimentary unit, but I didn't go down to check ;) The left inset shows a closeup of the canyon floor by the white outcrop. On checking the USGS 7.5' topo map (Triguero Lake 1979), the tall tree, probably a poplar, is the site of the Frank Triguero homestead, and a pack trail down to the homestead began here--evidently the only access. There are also some ruins visible in the vicinity on the satellite view. The right inset is a view of the canyon downstream (north). There's little surprise that Frank (or his heirs) gave it up, especially as the site would also be vulnerable to flooding. A political vagary: because the northern fringe of Nevada is in the Columbia River drainage, Nevada has a claim on hydropower produced in the Columbia Basin!