Welcome to Idaho Power’s Powercache Challenge!
All of our powercaches are located on Idaho Power land, so feel free to explore while you’re here. We ask only that you leave these sites as you find them, with no trace of your visit, so others can share the fun and excitement of discovery.
To learn more about the Idaho Powercache Challenge, visit idahopower.com/geocache, where you'll find detailed instructions on how to download your individual passport and place electronic stamps from the caches you find in your Idaho Powercache Passport. Each powercache site contains a unique code to unlock access for an electronic passport stamp.
Find each powercache, collect the 12 stamps, solve the word challenge phrase and collect your prize!
How Much Do You Know About Clean, Renewable Hydropower?
Did you realize?
- In the Pacific Northwest, the force of falling water takes an unpredictable resource – rainfall and snowpack – and turns it into a reliable source of electricity called hydropower.
- Each year the hydrologic cycle brings water to our rivers and more than 370 hydroelectric projects nationwide. They generate more than 30,000 megawatts of electricity, enough to meet the annual power needs of millions of homes.
- Idaho, Oregon and Washington are three of the five states with the lowest carbon dioxide emission rates, making our carbon footprint among the smallest in the country.
- Living in this region means you pay, on average, 20 percent less for electricity than the rest of the nation.
- Hydropower produces about two-thirds of the Pacific Northwest’s electricity every year.
- Hydroelectric power plants do not use up limited non-renewable resources to make electricity.
- They do not cause pollution of air, land or water.
- They have low failure rates, low operating costs and are reliable.
- Reservoirs have scenic and recreation value for campers, anglers and water sports enthusiasts.
- The water is a home for fish and wildlife as well.
- Dams add to domestic water supplies, control water quality, provide irrigation for agriculture, and prevent flooding.
Idaho Power’s Hydroelectric System
At Idaho Power we work hard every day to bring energy to your door. We do it safely and proudly by planning for the future, caring for the environment, today and every day.
The bulk of our power generating ability comes from our 17 hydroelectric power plants along the Snake River and its tributaries. We are proud to be one of the nation’s few investor-owned utilities with a significant hydroelectric generating base.
Our nearly 100-year history is based on using clean, renewable generation resources like our hydroelectric plants that have little if any greenhouse gas emissions. To this end, we promote energy efficiency and encourage our customers to make wise and efficient use of all resources, including electricity.
The Blade Runner
The Hagerman Valley is rich in history and scenic beauty. About four million years ago, a freshwater lake 200 miles long and 35 miles wide covered much of what is now southwestern Idaho. Known as Lake Idaho, it formed in a large depression in the western Snake River Plain. Lake Idaho existed until about 1.7 million years ago when melting glaciers caused the lake to overflow to the west. Captured by the Snake River, the waters drained out in a massive flood that cut into Hells Canyon – over 250 miles from here!
The renowned Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument provides a glimpse of life as it was millions of years ago. More than 140 animal species have been found in hundreds of individual fossil sites. Eight species are found nowhere else, and 44 were found here first.
British and American fur trapping traders came in 1811 to meet demand for beaver fur which was fashionable at the time for top hats. This is also one of many places where pioneers on the Oregon Trail traded with Native Americans for fish.
In 1878, placer miners discovered deposits of very fine gold particles called “flour gold” in the sand and gravel of the Snake River. The early Hagerman Valley farms supplied miners with produce, meat and dairy products. The valley was settled by the 1880s and the town of Hagerman was founded in 1892.
The early years of electrification in southern Idaho were marked by intense competition among a number of small companies. These companies often duplicated services, building parallel lines into the area’s towns and cities to compete for customers. The companies sold bonds to finance their construction projects, but the cutthroat competition drove the region’s power companies bankrupt.
A large investment firm with eastern financial backing – the Electric Bond and Share Company – stepped in and bought the failing companies. These acquisitions were eventually merged into a new company, Idaho Power. In August of 1916 Idaho Power began doing business with 17,786 customers. Today we serve more than 516,000. The Lower Salmon Falls Hydroelectric Project produces enough power annually to supply 23,000 homes.