By Nick Gottlieb
When John Wesley Powell led his exploratory trip down the Green and Colorado rivers in 1869, every member of his party reported passing the most “terrible” rapids just about every time they went through a canyon. From their first major portage at Ashley Falls in the Green River’s Flaming Gorge (later called Disaster Falls by Powell in reference to ) to the relentlessly continuous rapids that led to the loss of a boat in Lodore Canyon, every obstacle they faced was worse than the last. Some of this was hyperbole and fear of the unknown, but some of it was legitimate -- the canyons really do seem to grow in difficulty as the river cuts its way downstream. Today, many of the rapids they faced are inundated by dams and others are run regularly by commercial guides carrying clients of all shapes and ages, supplied with provisions that Powell’s men could only dream about. Only one of the canyons remains in a state anywhere near as wild and powerful as when Powell and his men brought their boats through -- Cataract Canyon. Yes, Marble and Grand Canyons hold more and wilder rapids, but their flows are regulated by Glen Canyon dam, and they rarely (if ever) reach levels even close to what Powell likely faced. Cataract peaks around 50,000 cfs on average, and occasionally approaches (and even exceeds) 100,000 cfs. For perspective, the Grand Canyon typically flows between five and fifteen thousand, occasionally a bit higher. In recent years, the US government has commissioned “high flow studies” that bring the river up to ~45,000 cfs for five days in an attempt to move sediment around and restore the riparian ecology, but as evidenced by Cataract’s flows, 45,000 is hardly a “high flow.”





