John Wesley Powell was a U.S. soldier, geologist, explorer of the American West, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He is famous for the 1869 Powell Geographic Expedition, a three-month river trip down the Green and Colorado rivers that included the first passage of European Americans through the Grand Canyon. Powell served as second director of the US Geological Survey (1881-1894), and was also the director of the Bureau...

The lure of the unknown and a love of adventure drew John Wesley Powell and his crew of nine to the last uncharted waters of the American west in 1869, Their goal: to be the first to ride the mighty Colorado River through the Grand Canyon and map its unexplored territory. Experience the explorers' harrowing descents through furious rapids and their wondrous discoveries on land as they overcome treacherous white eater, blistering heat, and near starvation,...