The dynamic John Wesley Powell was perhaps the greatest example of the fearless American explorer of the nineteenth century. Powell maintained that he was neither an adventurer nor just an explorer. To Powell, it was the pursuit of science that was of the utmost importance. Indeed, his exploration of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon actually led to the development of some of the principles of geology. It also prompted the settlement of the American Southwest.
In 1869, Powell, who had lost an arm during the Civil War, and nine companions set out to explore and map the largely
uncharted canyons of the Green and Colorado rivers. The party had just four flimsy wooden boats and a meager supply
of rations. The hazards of the grim journey challenged the group at every turn. In fact, Powell and his party surprised even the local Native Americans, who were themselves reluctant to navigate the dangerous Grand Canyon River Gorge. Yet Powell would not let anything frustrate his plans for exploration—not even the three reports of his death!
Fortunately, Powell did not die on the river, and the one-thousand-mile journey was a success, as was a second trip he led two years later. Powell’s book about the Grand Canyon region, as well as the photographs, topographic map, diaries, and field notes prepared by several other members of his party, provided valuable information about the area.
Soon after his second expedition, Powell became a prominent government official, involved in the management of arid western lands. He went on to become the Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, which collected data about fast disappearing North American Indian groups, and later, the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey.