Historical Markers of Clark County


Nevada Landmarks Home Page

*HM 37*


-- Powell of the Colorado --

Location: Southeastern Clark County, Lake Mead Nat'l Rec. Area
Directions: At Boat Launch parking area at Echo Bay, 18 miles S of Overton

Location: 4
Visibility: 2
Accessibility: 1
Marker type: St (L)
   

Date Conquered: 3/16/09
Quick Description: A marker commemorating the first boat expedition through the Grand Canyon; relates to the Nevada because the boat landing took place in Nevada.
Signed: No -- Historically, this marker was never signed. No surprise considering this is National Park land. (No signs exist today.)

#37 is the only Nevada Historical Marker within a National Park.

NOTES: Please keep in mind that a fee is required to enter Lake Mead NRA. When one of the rangers noticed me recording the marker, he was curious as to what it was. I would think he'd know, considering it's a ranger's job to know the area they're working for. Anyway, he wanted me to emphasize the entrance fee, so please... pay the $10/vehicle fee. This may sound obvious, but there is no entrance kiosk along Northshore Drive. Since most of you might be coming this way from Valley of Fire, this is of sheer importance. By the way, the fee pays entrance to any of the parks in the system within a seven-day period, especially awesome if you're planning to bag any of the other parks in the area (i.e, Grand Canyon, Zion etc.)

The scenic drive to #37.

A view along Northshore Drive. Providing the entrance fee is paid, drivers can follow this road all the way back to Henderson and the Lake Mead Parkway (SR 564).
Northshore Drive provides a much nicer alternative to the boring 15.

...And here's our turnoff, about 12 miles S of Overton.

Welcome to Echo Bay. Can you see the marker??

Full Description:
Exact description as reads...

On August 30, 1869, Major John Wesley Powell landed at the mouth of the Virgin River, about 12 miles south of here, thus ending the first boat expedition through the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River.

The expedition left Green River City, Wyoming Territory, on May 24, 1869. For three months Powell and his men endured danger and hunger to explore, survey and study the geology of the canyons along the Green and Colorado Rivers.

Exhausted and near starvation, the Powell party was warmly greeted and fed by the hardy Mormon pioneers of St. Thomas, a small farm settlement about 11 miles north of here.

The original sites of St. Thomas and the junction of the Virgin and Colorado Rivers are now beneath the waters of Lake Mead.

This, and later Powell surveys, stimulated great interest in the water conservation problems of the Southwest.

A lush oasis in the middle of the desert. Now overrun by houseboats and SoCal vacationers, take away the palm trees and green grass, and imagine what this area would've been like in 1869.

Artificial or not, Lake Mead is an impressive body of water.

Here's what's interesting...
 Are you surprised the National Park Service has their own version of the Powell Expedition Marker?

Not surprising he knew nothing about "those big blue signs." Idiots. Considering there are two Powell markers, why not place #37 right next to this NPS sign? An added advantage to this would be better visibility. The view isn't half-bad either. Just to the left of this picture is a small info building, passed on your way as you approach #37. If #37 were re-erected here, this is what the view might look like.

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