The dams that form the mountain reservoirs were constructed as part of the Bureau of Reclamation's "Boise Project" to provide agricultural irrigation, hydroelectricity, drinking water, and flood control to Boise and the Treasure Valley.
Wilson Hunt's main party of Astorians with the Pacific Fur brigade were travelling down the Boise River from the mouth of the Bruneau River, seven months late for their scheduled arrival at Fort Astoria, when they happened into Crooked Leg's camp on the Boise.
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Some sources attribute the name to the canyon of the Boise River near Caldwell, while western writers John Rees and Vardis Fisher believed it was named for the Snake River canyon, which forms a natural boundary with Owyhee County to the south and west.