The Shoshone Had a Name for It
Seeds-kee-dee-AgiePhotos and Story by Monique Beeley  The calm waters of Labyrinth Canyon The Green River corridor has a rich history. The Fremont Culture, who thrived from the 7th to the 13th Centuries, made their homes in the tributary canyons of the river valley and left behind volumes of brilliant rock art on canyon walls. Centuries later, the Shoshone culture inhabited the river valley north of the Uintah Mountains and named the river the Seeds-kee-dee-Agie, meaning “Prairie Hen River.” In 1776, the Spanish explorers Escalante and Dominguez named the River the “Rio de San Buenaventura”. Captain Pacheco, the early mapmaker of the 1776 expedition, erroneously indicated the river drained the Great Salt Lake into the Pacific Ocean. Later Spanish and Mexican explorers adopted the Rio Verde, meaning “Green River” in Spanish. John C. Fremont led several expeditions exploring the Green River in the 1840’s, correcting the earlier cartographic error made by Pacheco since the river did not drain the Great Salt Lake.
Finally, in 1869, John Wesley Powell embarked on the first of two voyages down the Green, floating the river to the confluence with the Colorado. Powell named most of the canyons, geographic features and rapids along the Green, leaving behind a detailed account of the river for future explorers and river-runners.  Outfitters offer ladies' Retreats Traveling through Dinosaur National Monument, Lodore Canyon, also known as the Gates of Lodore, takes adventurers through the some of the deepest canyons in the southwest. Disaster Falls, Triplet Falls and Hells Half Mile are just a few of the rapids on a multi-day Lodore trip that are sure to be wet and wild. Split Mountain Canyon, a popular day trip, has the greatest fall of any of the canyons of the Green, nearly twenty-one feet per mile, posing some of the most challenging rapids on the river. Below Lodore, Desolation and Gray Canyon challenge river-rats with more than 60 Class I-III rapids, winding 120 miles through the stomping grounds of the infamous Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.  Lose yourself in the river corridor Stillwater Canyon offers the last 52 miles of flat water on the Green. Winding its way through the majestic walls of Canyonlands National Park leading to the confluence in Cataract Canyon where the Green meets the Colorado and the river become one. Along the way there are many opportunities to visit the ruins and rock art sites of the Anasazi who vanished from this area hundreds of years ago. The Green River and its amazing landscapes has something for all; history, artifacts, beauty and, of course, adventure! Special thanks to Carbon Recreation & CEU Outdoors for showing us the adventure found only on the river! www.carbonrec.com |
