River of Stone

On May 24, 1869, Civil War veteran Major John Wesley Powell launched an expedition of ten men to explore the last remaining tract of unknown wilderness in the continental United States. This last unknown was the thousand miles of canyons of the Green and Colorado rivers, rivers which seemed to vanish into the Earth itself. The expedition was launched at Green River, Wyoming, and 99 days and 1,000 miles later, Powell and his companions had earned a place in history, and one of North America's most important river systems was charted.

River of Stone recreates Powell's journey through the heart of Colorado Plateau using archival photographs and new footage from a recent re-enactment, following the wake of Powell's wooden dories through landscapes and waterways changed greatly through human intervention.

Much of what Powell explored, many of the rapids he raced through are presently submerged under reservoirs like Flaming Gorge, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, and plants non- indigenous to the region, such as tamarisk, have become weed pests that reclamation has waged unsuccessful war against.

The Colorado plateau that so impressed Powell with its 100-mile vistas of crystal clarity, is often so covered with environmental haze that merely seeing the other side of the Grand Canyon is impossible.

River of Stone is produced by KUED's award-winning filmmaker John Howe.