Powell of the Colorado
Powell of the Colorado Overview
In 1869, Major John Wesley Powell landed at the mouth of the Virgin River, about twelve miles south of here, thus ending the first expedition through the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River.
Category
- Event
- Person
Marker Type
Blue marker
Nevada Historical Marker Number
Powell of the Colorado is Nevada Historical Marker #37.
Click here to view the full list of Nevada State Historical Markers.
County
GPS Coordinates
36.307583, -114.420423
Nevada Historical Marker Transcription
On August 30, 1869, Major John Wesley Powell landed at the mouth of the Virgin River, about twelve miles south of here, thus ending the first expedition through the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River.
The expedition left Green River City, Wyoming Territory, on May 24, 1869. For three months Powell and his men endured danger and hunger to explore, survey, and study the geology of the canyons along the Green and Colorado Rivers.
Exhausted and near starvation, the Powell party was fed by the Mormons of St. Thomas, a small farm settlement about eleven miles north of here.
The original sites of St. Thomas and the junction of the Virgin and Colorado Rivers are now beneath the waters of Lake Mead.
This, and later Powell surveys, stimulated interest in the water conservation problems of the Southwest.
STATE HISTORICAL MARKER No. 37
STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE
NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM
NEVADA STATE MUSEUM, LAS VEGAS
References Used
Powell of the Colorado