Imnaha is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

at the confluence of Big Sheep Creek and the

Imnaha River The Imnaha River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 3, 2011 tributary of the Snake River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Flowing generally east near the headwaters ...

Wallowa County Wallowa County () is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,391, making it Oregon's fifth-least populous county. Its county seat is Enterprise. According to ''Oregon Geographic Name ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, United States. Its elevation is . Oregon Route 350 connects Imnaha to the nearest incorporated city,

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

, to the west. Imnaha is best known as the gateway to the Hat Point scenic lookout on

Hells Canyon Hells Canyon is a canyon in the Western United States, along the border of eastern Oregon, western Idaho, and a small section of eastern Washington. It is part of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area which is also located in part of ...

at the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

. The name ''Imnaha'' means "land ruled over by Imna"; Imna was a local Native American subchief. The

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

in Imnaha opened January 4, 1885, but the

townsite A townsite is a legal subdivision of land for the development of a town or community. In the historical development of the United States, Canada, and other former British colonial nations, the filing of a townsite plat (United States) or plan ( ...

was not established until 1901; it was platted in 1902. Imnaha is the easternmost settlement in the state of Oregon. It lies at the foot of the Hell's Canyon of the Snake River and is accessible via Oregon Route 350.

Climate

This region experiences extremely hot and dry summers. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Imnaha has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Imnaha, Oregon
/ref>

Notable person

Eugene Pallette Eugene William Pallette (July 8, 1889 – September 3, 1954) was an American actor who worked in both the silent and sound eras, performing in more than 240 productions between 1913 and 1946. After an early career as a slender leading man, ...

, actor of the silent films era who became a character actor following the transition to talking pictures

References

External links

* * Unincorporated communities in Wallowa County, Oregon 1885 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1885 Unincorporated communities in Oregon {{WallowaCountyOR-geo-stub