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The Exploration of the Colorado River
The Grand (Colorado) River has its source in the Rocky Mountains near Long's Peak; the Green River heads in the Wind River Mountains near Fremont's Peak. The river (The Green plus the Colorado below the junction) is nearly two thousand miles in length; the area drained by the river is approximately eight hundred miles long and three to five hundred miles in width. Until the time of the Colorado River expedition most of the river was unknown.
John Wesley Powell, who became one of the most important men in the history of the Western United States, spent much of 1867 and 1868 exploring the Grand, White, the Upper Canyons of the Green, as well as the Yampa Rivers and in formulating plans for a survey of the Colorado River. Powell made a first survey down the Colorado in 1869 and a second in 1871.
May 24, 1869. Green River. Wyoming.
The party of ten men began the exploration of the Colorado River. Three twenty-one foot boats were made of oak and one sixteen foot boat, which was built for fast rowing, was made of pine. The four boats were decked over fore and aft; supplies included food for ten months, saws, hammers and other tools, sextants, chronometers, barometers and other scientific instruments.
June 9, 1869. Canyon of the Lodore
Powell walked along the river searching for the best channel to try. The plan was for the other boats to await the signal. One of the boats, the "No Name", apparently missed the signal or was unable to respond in time and was carried through a ten to twelve foot rapid, then through a forty to fifty foot rapid in a channel filled with dangerous rocks. The boat was broken in two. The men, thrown into the water, were able to cling to half of the boat for a moment, then that was lost to them. The men landed on an island and were rescued later. The barometers were retrieved the following day.