Desolation Canyon is a remote

canyon A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...

on the Green River in eastern

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

that is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(NRHP). It is said to be one of the most remote areas in the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...

Description

The canyon begins in southwestern Uintah County and then meanders roughly south along (and becomes) the county line between Uintah and

Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

counties (including the entire eastern border of Carbon County). Continuing its southerly meander, it then becomes the county line between Emery and Grand counties, until it reaches its mouth in the

Roan Cliffs The Roan Cliffs are a series of desert mountains and cliffs in eastern Utah and western Colorado, in the western United States that are distinct from (but closely associated with) the Book Cliffs. Description While Roan Cliffs are "remote and in ...

. (The Green River continues flowing south through Gray Canyon.) Desolation Canyon is situated between the West Tavaputs Plateau on the west and the East Tavaputs Plateau on the east. At its deepest point, a relief of over exists from river level to the unseen rim of the Tavaputs Plateau.

History

Over the last few thousand years, different groups of humans have occupied the area and left their traces behind. Fremont and

Ute Ute or UTE may refer to: * Ute people, a Native American people of the Great Basin * Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah * Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah * Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern ...

pictographs and petroglyphs are abundant in Desolation Canyon and its numerous tributary canyons, such as Nine Mile and Range Creek. Fremont granaries, as well as several abandoned homesteaders' ranches, testify to the agricultural potential of riparian alluvial fans, which are larger in Desolation Canyon than in any other canyon of the Colorado - Green river system. The canyon was traversed by

John Wesley Powell John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He ...

in 1869 as part of an expedition that was sponsored by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. Originally homesteaded by the Seamount family in 1914, Rock Creek Ranch is still used as a horse pasture by the ranches' contemporary owners, which makes it the last property in the canyon still commercially in use. Desolation Canyon was added to the NRHP and declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1968 as part of the centennial celebration of the Powell expedition.

Recreation

Each year during the spring, summer, and fall months, many boaters make the trip through Desolation and Gray canyons from Sand Wash to Swasey's Rapid, just upstream of the city of Green River. This section is managed by the

Price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation expected, required, or given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, especially when the product is a service rather than a ph ...

office of the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

, which issues permits. An additional permit must be obtained to camp or hike on the eastern side of the river, which is part of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation for most of the canyon's length. As of spring 2015, the Utes are no longer offering permits to non-tribal members. Over 60 named class two and three rapids challenge boaters, and the gradual increase in size and difficulty of rapids make it an ideal place for beginner to intermediate boaters to develop their skills. At high water (over ), Joe Hutch Canyon Rapid (Cow Swim) approaches a class IV difficulty. Rapids in the canyon are big enough to swamp an open canoe at any water level.

References

External links

Desolation & Gray canyons river information
on blm.gov
Desolation Canyon River Access, Rapids and Points of Interest
at RiverBrain {{authority control Canyons and gorges of Utah Green River (Colorado River tributary) Landforms of Carbon County, Utah Landforms of Emery County, Utah Canyons and gorges of Grand County, Utah Landforms of Uintah County, Utah National Historic Landmarks in Utah Bureau of Land Management areas in Utah Natural features on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah Protected areas of Carbon County, Utah Protected areas of Emery County, Utah Protected areas of Grand County, Utah Protected areas of Uintah County, Utah

Description

History

Recreation

See also

References

External links