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Home » Minidoka County Information
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DESCRIPTION OF MINIDOKA
COUNTY
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County Seat: |
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Rupert |
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Population: |
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20,174 |
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Business Hours: |
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8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
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Area: |
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762 sq. miles |
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Minidoka County is located in the fertile Snake River Plain
of Southern Idaho approximately 160 miles east of Boise, 160 miles
northwest of Salt Lake City, Utah and 90 miles west of Pocatello.
The county contains approximately four hundred eighty thousand
(480,000) acres, of which 42% is in production agriculture. The
county has a unique topography and elevation. Its southern portion,
which runs along the Snake River, was originally part of the
riverbed. Its northern portion runs over a somewhat higher table and
is called the North side project. Its extreme northern and eastern
boundaries consist of lava flows with large and small areas of
arable land. Although the surface structure is varied, there is only
180 feet difference in elevation from the lowest point at the
southwest corner, 4180 feet and its highest point in the northeast
corner, 4360 feet. |
Water
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Water stored in reservoirs created by dams on the Snake River
provides the means of irrigation for the diversified farming on the
original Minidoka Project. Water was first delivered to the Minidoka
Project in 1907 with the completion of Minidoka Dam. The old project
consists of 72,221 acres. Deep wells provide the water for the new
Governmental Homestead Project consisting of 89,000 acres.
Additional acres have been developed by private enterprise since the
first Veteran Homestead drawing in 1953. Today there is
approximately 160,000 acres of rich sagebrush land under irrigation
by pumping. |
Climate
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The climate of Minidoka County corresponds in general, with that of
the semi-arid valleys of Southern Idaho. The annual precipitation is
9.48 inches coming primarily in the form of snow during the months
of November through February. However, it did increase to 13.7
inches in 1968 and an unprecedented low of 3.38 as of September
1969. The mean temperature for Rupert is 62.2 degrees maximum, with
highs of 105+ degrees F recorded and minus (-) 35 degrees F for the
low.
The average date of killing frosts in the spring is May 17th and the
first frost in the fall is September 21. We did experience scattered
frost damage on July 4 and 5th in 1986. The average frost-free days
are 127 days. |
Transportation
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Interstate Highway 84 traverses Minidoka County from east to west
for approximately 15 miles. In addition to the Interstate system
there are 72 additional miles of State maintained highways in the
county. Minidoka County Highway District maintains 608 miles of road
in the county and also cooperates with the cities in the county on
highway maintenance. The District’s goal was to hard surface all
roads on the North side, but this objective has changed with an
increased energy cost and the current economic situation in the
state and county. They currently have 310 miles of highways that
qualify for Federal Highway funds. Sixty (60%) percent of the
District budget is derived from gasoline taxes.
The rural highway marking system is unique and is much copied by
other rural counties in southern Idaho. The system makes it
extremely easy for emergency and service personnel to locate rural
families in the county.
The mainline of the Union Pacific railroad crosses the northern side
of the county from east to west. A spur line comes off the mainline
at Minidoka, running past Acequia, Rupert, Burley, Paul terminating
in Twin Falls. While rail passenger service is available on Amtrak
only with a stop in Shoshone, the railroad serves a valuable
function in the transportation of agricultural produce from the
area.
Air transportation is limited to size of the facilities. The Burley
airport, located on the eastern edge of the city of Burley and is
not large enough to serve commercial air transportation. However,
there is an active private and charter service from the Burley
airport. |
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