Desolation Canyon is a remote

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

on the

Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada *Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...

in eastern Utah, United States that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It is said to be one of the most remote areas in the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

Description

The canyon begins in southwestern

Uintah County Uintah County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 35,620. Its county seat and largest city is Vernal. The county was named for the portion of the Ute Indian tribe that lived in the b ...

and then meanders roughly south along (and becomes) the county line between Uintah and Carbon 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 inac ...

. (The Green River continues flowing south through Gray Canyon.) Desolation Canyon is situated between the

West Tavaputs Plateau West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

on the west and the

East Tavaputs Plateau East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

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 (band), an Australian jazz group * Ute (given name) * ''Ute'' (sponge), a sponge genus * Ute (vehicle), an Australian and New Zealand term for certain utility vehicles * Ute, Iowa, a city in Monona County along ...

pictographs and petroglyphs are abundant in Desolation Canyon and its numerous tributary canyons, such as Nine Mile and

Range Creek Range Creek, rising in the Book Cliffs in Emery County, Utah, is a high tributary of the Green River, a major tributary of the Colorado River. The creek flows year around. It has been nominated for classification as a National Wild and Scenic Riv ...

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

. This section is managed by the Price 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. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

, 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