2019 Articles

150th Anniversary of the Powell Expedition

John Powell boat

The famous Powell armchair in Marble Canyon. Grand Canyon National Park. Coconino County, Arizona. August 20, 1872. (Photo credit: E.O. Beaman. Public domain)

It’s the 150th anniversary of explorer and geologist John Wesley Powell’s journey down the Green and Colorado Rivers in 1869.

The USGS has a dedicated website for the commemoration, and they are posting photo galleries from the trip. Also, check out this story map about the 1869 expedition from the USGS.

Powell didn’t have a camera along on the first trip but did bring one the second time around in 1871-1872. Below is a photo of his boat, somewhere during the second expedition, with the desk chair he used to scout the river ahead (via USGS).