Major Powell, Colorado River Explorer

In 1869, John Wesley Powell did what everyone told him was suicide. Warned he would never come out alive, the one-armed Civil War veteran launched four boats onto the Green River that May with nine men, to run the unknown canyons of the Green and Colorado — the first descent of either. For ninety-seven days they fought rapids, hunger, and exhaustion. One man quit early; three more left near the end, at Separation Canyon, and were killed — deaths long blamed on the Shivwits Paiute, though the truth has never been settled. Six of the ten came out.

What the plaque says

The first organized attempt to conquer the swirling rapids and precipitous walled canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers was made by Major John Wesley Powell, Civil War hero and explorer. Warned by Indians and mountaineers they would never return alive, Powell and 9 companions started from Green River Station, Wyoming Territory on May 24, 1869 with 4 boats, instruments for making scientific observations and provisions to last 10 months. For 97 days Powell and his men battled the elements enduring tremendous deprivation and hardship. One man (Frank Goodman) left the company early in the journey and 3 others (William Dunn, O.G. and Seneca Howland) later killed by Shivwit Indians, deserted near Grand Canyon Arizona. On August 29, 1869, the 6 remaining men (J.W. and W.H. Powell, W.R. Hawkins, A. Hall, J.C. Sumner, and G.Y. Bradley) arrived at the junction of the Rio Virgin in Southern Nevada, having navigated and charted over 900 miles of the river. In May 1871, 2 years after his first river voyage, J.W. Powell again led an exploring party of 11 men in 3 boats down the Green and Colorado Rivers. Well into 1873 members of Powell’s party continued extensive and significant exploration and surveys of the region bordering the rivers traversed. The Powell Surveys are some of the most significant explorations achieved anywhere in the world.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• John Wesley Powell River History Museum — 0.5 mi
  The only U.S. museum devoted to river history, on the bank of the Green River.
• Green River — 1.1 mi
  A small desert town famous for its melons and river adventures
• Crystal Geyser — 3.8 mi
  A cold-water geyser that erupts from an abandoned oil well

More markers nearby

• Bert Loper — 1.1 mi