In This Issue

Flaming Gorge, Firehole, Kingfisher, Horseshoe, Red, Brown’s Park, The Gates of Lodore, Ashley Falls, Split Mountain, Desolation, Nine Mile, and Minnie Maud, are just some of the names given to places along the three hundred or so mile stretch of river between the towns of Green River, Wyoming, and Green River, Utah. Place names denote extensive human activity and imagination and the treasure of names that dot the map of eastern Utah’s Green River Country mark the human experience from ancient peoples to later missionaries, fur trappers, explorers, ranchers, outlaws, river runners, and others.

Our first article for 2011 focuses on the canyons of the Green River in the northeastern corner of Utah that were “lost” with the construction of Flaming Gorge dam and reservoir in the 1950s.We then move south along the river to Range Creek, a tributary of the Green River that has gained international attention for its near pristine treasure of prehistoric sites, structures, and rock art. But before more recent interests of archaeologists in human activity of the area, a few settlers and ranchers found their way to this remote region and maintained an existence under challenging conditions for half a century. Although their business was cattle ranching, some demonstrated an appreciation for the ancient artifacts and helped insure their preservation.

The United States Geological Survey Group at Ashley Falls in 1922.

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH LIBRARY.

Returning to the issue of place names, our third article takes up the question of two of the region’s best known but least understood names—Nine Mile Canyon and Minnie Maud. Why the name Nine Mile for a canyon that is much longer than its name suggests? Who was Minnie Maud, or Minnie and Maud, and how did the name come to grace an eastern Utah stream and canyon? How do both names relate to the John Wesley Powell expeditions down the Green River in 1869 and 1871?

The location of our last article remains in eastern Utah — San Juan County in the southeastern corner of the state — where prospects for that area’s future hung on a momentous decision in 1895 regarding the removal of Colorado Utes to lands only recently taken up by Mormon settlers and Colorado cattlemen.

United States Geological Survey Camp at Scott’s Bottoms in 1922.

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH LIBRARY.

FRONT COVER: The remains of an ancient Fremont structure sit atop a natural tower overlooking the Green River. PHOTO COURTESY OF DAN MILLER.