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| Escalante River | |
|---|---|
 View of part of the Escalante River, taken on July 4, 2022 from the International Space Station | |
 Location of the Escalante River within Utah | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Utah |
TheEscalante River is atributary of theColorado River. It is formed by theconfluence ofUpper Valley and Birch Creeks near the town ofEscalante in south-centralUtah, and from there flows southeast for approximately 90 mi (140 km) before joiningLake Powell. Its watershed includes the high forested slopes of theAquarius Plateau, the east slope of theKaiparowits Plateau, and the high desert north of Lake Powell. It was the last river of its size to be discovered in the48 contiguous U.S. states.[1]The average discharge is approximately 146 cfs (4.1 m3/s).
The river was first mapped and named by Almon Thompson, a member of the 1872 Colorado River expedition led byJohn Wesley Powell.[1] It was named afterSilvestre Vélez de Escalante, aFranciscanmissionary and the first known European explorer of the region. In 1776, Escalante and his Spanish superiorFrancisco Atanasio Domínguez left fromSanta Fe, New Mexico in an attempt to reachMonterey, California.[2] During this journey, usually referred to as theDomínguez–Escalante expedition, Escalante and his companions passed by theGrand Canyon and were the first white men to enterUtah.
Much of the Escalante River's course is through sinuous sandstone gorges. The river and the rugged canyons which drain into it form a key section ofGrand Staircase–Escalante National Monument. This spectacular region is a popular destination forhiking andbackpacking.
For most of the year, the Escalante River is a small stream, easily stepped across or waded. During spring runoff and the summer monsoon, however, the river can become a raging, muddy torrent ten to one hundred times bigger. In some years, the river can be run usingkayaks orcanoes (rafts are too large), but this requires both good timings — water which is too high or too low can make travel impossible, stranding boaters — and the willingness to portage boats several hundred vertical feet at the end of the trip.
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37°17′22″N110°52′20″W / 37.28944°N 110.87222°W /37.28944; -110.87222
