Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • A gorge of the Snake River on the Idaho-Oregon border. It is about 200 km (125 mi) long and has a maximum depth of over 2,440 m (8,000 ft).

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The Snake River crosses the province at the bottom of Hells Canyon, which is deeper than the Grand Canyon.

    Middle Rocky Mountain Steppe - Coniferous Forest - Alpine Meadow Province (Bailey) 2009

  • Gregory Nokes will present historic photos of the Chinese experience in the American West including mining, railroad building, and more, plus photos related to the massacre in Hells Canyon with pauses to read from his book, Massacred for Gold: The Chinese in Hells Canyon.

    Portland Book Events: June 26-July 2 - Reading Local: Portland 2010

  • Gregory Nokes will present historic photos of the Chinese experience in the American West including mining, railroad building, and more, plus photos related to the massacre in Hells Canyon with pauses to read from his book, Massacred for Gold: The Chinese in Hells Canyon.

    Tonight 6-28: Show and Tell Open Mic at Three Friends Coffee House - Reading Local: Portland 2010

  • The Grand Coulee Dam, built in 1941, blocked 1,100 miles of salmon-spawning grounds; Hells Canyon, in 1967, blocked upstream migration on the Snake River (map).

    Better Red Than Dead 2008

  • Protect all remaining large, relatively intact blocks, including Hells Canyon and Eagle Cap; John Day wilderness and surrounding areas; Wenaha-Tucannon wilderness; Aldrich Mountain (northwest corner of Malheur National Forest has old growth but most is unprotected); and Ochoco National Forest (northern block has unprotected old growth).

    Blue Mountains forests 2008

  • Whenever federal land management agencies raise the possibility of restricting motorized use, whether it's overflights in the Grand Canyon, snowmobiles in Yellowstone, jet boats in Hells Canyon, or off-road vehicles just about anywhere, groups representing these motorized users make almost as much noise in the halls of the land management agencies as they do in the backcountry.

    The Silence of Our Disappearing Wilderness Has Charms to Soothe the Civilized Breast 2006

  • Idaho's Hells Canyon dams blocked passage to the entire Upper Snake River, including streams as far away as Northern Nevada.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • One alternative in the draft calls for reducing domestic grazing by about 60 percent in Hells Canyon and allotments in the Salmon River Canyon.

    KTVB.com Local News 2010

  • The corpses-shot, hacked, disemboweled, dismembered-are Chinese miners who have traveled deep into Hells Canyon where they met their fate at the titular Deep Creek.

    NewWest.Net All Headlines 2010

  • The corpses-shot, hacked, disemboweled, dismembered-are Chinese miners who have traveled deep into Hells Canyon where they met their fate at the titular Deep Creek.

    NewWest.Net All Headlines 2010

Comments

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  • Yep, you guessed it, the deepest gorge (7993 ft. at its deepest) in the United States is in Idaho (the canyon lies on the border, so Oregon likely claims the same distinction).

    December 23, 2010