Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness
One of the largest stretches of pristine wilderness in the contiguous United States, featuring a drift boat on the Salmon River.
The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness is a vast area of pristine nature in the state of Idaho. As one of the largest wilderness areas in the contiguous United States, it has almost no roads, and its deep mountains, valleys, and rivers remain just as they are, untouched by human hands. The “River of No Return” in its name comes from the nickname of the Salmon River, whose currents were so strong that it was hard to travel back upstream.
On the reverse of the coin is a drift boat (a boat that drifts along, giving itself over to the current) floating on the Salmon River, with a vast wilderness landscape spreading out behind it.
The small boat drifting along the river and the endlessly continuing mountain ranges show a human being staying for a while within nature rather than ruling over it. This scene holds the spirit of “preservation” — the idea of protecting the wilderness just as it is.
This area was designated a wilderness area on July 23, 1980, and was later given the name of Senator Frank Church, who led the law behind it. In this way, the “America the Beautiful” series also honors pure, untouched nature as a precious heritage.
Looking at the small boat on the river on the coin, we naturally feel America’s wish to pass on the wilderness, undeveloped and just as it is, to future generations.