Canyons of the Colorado

The most famous first descent of the Colorado River, undertaken by a one-legged Civil War veteran and his crew of nine men in wooden boats. In 1869, John Wesley Powell led an expedition through unmapped canyons that had claimed many lives before. With limited supplies and no knowledge of what lay ahead, they navigated treacherous rapids, endured near-starvation, and emerged having mapped and named features that would become American icons. Powell's account is both a gripping adventure narrative and a pioneering work of scientific observation, capturing landscapes that no white American had ever seen in person. The Glen Canyon he described - with its 'wonderful features: carved walls, royal arches, glens, alcove gulches, mounds and monuments' - is now almost entirely submerged beneath Lake Powell. This is the document that made the Grand Canyon known to the nation, and it remains a testament to the courage and curiosity that built America. For readers who love adventure, the American West, or the birth of environmental consciousness.