Expedition Island
Expedition Island, Green River, WY
Green River, WY
The quiet island in the Green River where a one-armed war veteran pushed off to run the last blank space on the map of the West.
Expedition Island looks today like an ordinary green island in the Green River, threaded with paths and shaded by cottonwoods. But on May 24, 1869, this quiet spot was the starting line for one of the great adventures in American history, when Major John Wesley Powell and nine men pushed four small wooden boats into the current and set off into country no map could describe.
Powell, a Civil War veteran who had lost most of an arm at Shiloh, led his party down the Green and into the Colorado, becoming the first documented expedition to run the length of the Grand Canyon. He launched again from near here in 1871. In recognition, Expedition Island is a National Historic Landmark, a small park carrying a very large story.
What Guests Love
- Standing at the very spot where Powell's river expeditions began
- Easy riverside paths, cottonwood shade, and picnic spots on the island
- Watching the Green River slide past the desert bluffs
- Birdwatching in the wetlands and river corridor around the island
Worth Knowing
- This is a low-key city park, best for a stroll, a picnic, and a sense of history rather than big facilities
- Summer is warm and pleasant along the river; winter is cold and quiet
- The nearby Sweetwater County museum in town deepens the Powell and railroad story
- Watch for muddy or high water along the banks in spring runoff
Details
Green River, WY
Learn about Expedition Island
Powell and the last blank on the map
By the late 1860s the American West had been crossed and mapped in most directions, but the deep canyon country of the Green and Colorado rivers remained a mystery, a stretch feared for its rapids and sheer walls. John Wesley Powell, a self-taught scientist and Civil War veteran, set out to fill in that blank.
On May 24, 1869, his party of ten launched four boats from this island and rowed south into the unknown. Over the following months they ran furious rapids, lost a boat and most of their food, endured heat, hunger, and fear, and three men left the river near its end, never to be seen again. The rest emerged from the Grand Canyon having completed the first known passage of the whole gorge.
The town the railroad and the river built
The town of Green River grew up where the Union Pacific Railroad crossed the river, and the same water that carried Powell south still defines the place. The banded bluffs above town, full of fossils from an ancient lake, gave Green River its scenery and its early economy.
Powell returned to launch a second, better-equipped expedition from near here in 1871, refining the science and mapping of the canyon country. That work helped shape how the nation understood and eventually managed the arid West, and the town has honored the connection ever since.
The island as a park today
Expedition Island is now a green, walkable city park, with paths, lawns, big cottonwoods, and picnic areas along the slow river. A monument and interpretive markers recall Powell's launches, and it is an easy, pleasant place to walk and imagine those small boats setting off.
The island also anchors a longer river greenway through town, good for strolling, jogging, and birdwatching. It is a restful spot, the kind of place where the enormity of what began here sits quietly under the trees.
The river, the wildlife, and the seasons
The Green River corridor is a ribbon of life through the high desert, drawing herons, pelicans, ducks, geese, and songbirds to its waters and willows, while beaver work the banks and deer come down to drink. It is a fine stretch for quiet wildlife watching close to town.
This country was long known to the Eastern Shoshone and Ute peoples, whose ties to the Green River drainage run deep. Summer brings warm days and green shade along the water, fall gilds the cottonwoods, and winter is cold and still, when the river runs low and clear past the empty island.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Green River
Sweetwater County Historical Museum
About 1 mile north
A Green River museum with strong exhibits on Powell, the railroad, and regional history.
Green River bluffs
Around town
The banded, fossil-rich cliffs, including Castle Rock and Tollgate Rock, that frame the town.
Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area
About 25 miles south
The red-rock reservoir Powell named, on the Green River below town.