Learn about the famous explorer and his adventures.

"It was a wild ride... and this book does it justice. Well-chosen thrills, spills, and conflicts are spliced into a narrative that highlights the danger underlying this scientific mission... Handsomely designed text... large, full-color impressionistic paintings convey the action." --School Library Journal No European had ever taken boats down the Colorado river and come out alive. In May 1869, ten men boarded four rowboats in Green River City, Wyoming. Three months and 1,000 miles later, two battered boats carrying six exhausted and starving men emerged from the depths of the Grand Canyon. The Last River tells their remarkable story. The man who challenged the Colorado, Major John Wesley Powell, was a small, bookish geology professor from a Midwestern farm. Despite his size and the constant pain from the Civil War wound that had cost him his arm, Powell's twin passions--adventure and scientific exploration--drew him to the Colorado River. For three months, he and nine crewmembers thrilled to riding the rapids and endured the backbreaking labor of transporting boats and cargo past rapids too dangerous to run. They discovered canyons of unsurpassed beauty and gave them names like Music Temple and Canyon of Lodore. They saved each other from drowning, and suffered together as their food supply dwindled to nearly nothing. Excerpts from journals of crewmembers personalize the gripping text. Original paintings and a foldout map allow the reader to follow the expedition's route and its adventures. The Last River is an inspiring and riveting true adventure written with drama and compassion that brings history to life.

Presents an account of the Colorado River Exploration Expedition, a journey organized in 1969 by geology professor John Wesley Powell to explore the last uncharted river in the United States, and shares details of Powell's life, as well as the lives of members of his team.

Describes the expedition of John Wesley Powell in 1869 to explore the Colorado River from Green River City, Wyoming, to the Grand Canyon.

Chronicles the journey of ten men who set out on the Colorado River Exploring Expedition in May 1869. Describes how John Wesley Powell and his men explored thousands of miles of the Colorado River and its surrounding canyons and desert. Features illustrations and photographs of the harrowing journey, which ended three months later and claimed the lives of four of the explorers.

A look at the life of the geologist who first explored the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon in 1869.