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approximately 52,000 cu ft/s (1,500 m/s). The maximum recorded flow of 114,900 cu ft/s (3,250 m/s) occurred on May 27, 1984. The rapids of
Cataract Canyon become difficult at flows above 30,000 cu ft/s (850 m/s) and extreme at flows above 50,000 cu ft/s (1,400 m/s).
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River trips that run
Cataract Canyon must also run one of the flatwater sections above the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers. Most groups launch at Potash (on the Colorado River) or Mineral Bottom (on the Green River) and spend up to five days on the river before entering Cataract Canyon.
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Most rapids in
Cataract Canyon are simply named from upstream to downstream as Rapid 1, Rapid 2, etc. However, some rapids within the canyon have separate names due to their location or notoriety. Particularly notorious are the "Big Drops", a set of three rapids in short succession named "Big Drop
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sometimes establishes a camp below the big drops and uses a jetboat to facilitate rescues of capsized rafts and their passengers. However, it is generally understood that all river runners attempting
Cataract Canyon at any river level should be capable of self-rescue and not depend on the NPS for
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to its confluence with the
Colorado River at the top of Cataract Canyon. The rapids of Cataract Canyon terrified Powell and his men. The expedition portaged their boats around every rapid in the canyon, a difficult and arduous task. Because of the difficulty of the rapids, Powell named the canyon
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through
Cataract Canyon is far enough downstream from a dam that it is generally unregulated. The river can reach extreme levels during the spring runoff in years following plentiful snow throughout the Colorado River watershed. During an average spring runoff, the Colorado River will peak at
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Because of the remote location, it was some time before
European explorers and settlers reached the area. The Colorado River and its canyons were more of an obstacle to travel than a destination to be explored. The first recorded European to reach Cataract Canyon was a fur trapper named
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Several commercial outfitters offer guided trips through
Cataract Canyon. These trips vary between one and six days and utilize both motorized and non-motorized vessels. Private groups must obtain a permit from the National Park Service before embarking on a Cataract Canyon trip.
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1", "Big Drop 2" and "Big Drop 3". During high water, these three rapids essentially run together to form one very large rapid. These rapids contain many large hydraulic features, including "Little
Niagara", "Satan's Gut", and "The Claw". During times of high runoff, the
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today. Brothers Emery and
Ellsworth Kolb traveled through the canyon in 1911. The Kolb brothers eventually established a studio on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, where they featured videos of their exploits running the rapids of the Colorado River.
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uplifted the entire region. The Colorado River subsequently cut through the rock layers, exposing them. The oldest rock layer visible in Cataract Canyon is the Paradox Formation, which was deposited approximately 320 million years ago.
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Motorized trips can make the trip into Cataract Canyon in less time, often one day. In addition to the flatwater at the beginning of the trip, all groups must traverse
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Other river runners soon followed. Nathanial Galloway made numerous trips through the canyon in 1894. Galloway would later pioneer rowing techniques still used by
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in 1836. Julien carved his name into a rock wall in the lower section of Cataract Canyon, though this inscription is now covered by Lake Powell.
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and have been buried in lake sediment. "Gypsum Canyon Rapid" and "Dark Canyon Rapid" were considered very difficult rapids to navigate.
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destination today. The rapids in the canyon are generally considered "big water", with a character similar to those found in
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Cataract Canyon. After exiting Cataract Canyon, Powell continued his trip downstream through Glen Canyon, now submerged by
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in 1938. The advent of rubber rafts came about in the early 1950s with the availability of surplus rubber rafts from
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made a solo trip through Cataract Canyon and Grand Canyon in 1937, eventually ending at the newly constructed
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Down the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell's 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy Through the Grand Canyon
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Cataract Canyon historically contained several rapids, which are currently submerged beneath
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The first organized exploration to travel the entire length of Cataract Canyon was the
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when the lake is at its normal high water elevation of 3,700 feet (1,100 m).
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172:. The first commercial outfitter to offer trips through Cataract Canyon was
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and ruins, at least 800 years old, have been found in Cataract Canyon.
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Calm water during sunrise at Spanish Bottom, Cataract Canyon
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Cataract Canyon is cut by the Colorado River into the
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Cataract Canyon Information (National Park Service)
1246:Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
50:. It begins at Colorado's confluence with the
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335:, by Edward Dolnick, Harper Perennial, 2002,
204:. Cataract Canyon is rated on the Class I-VI
152:before ending his trip near the mouth of the
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397:Canyonlands National Park Permit Information
192:Raft in the Big Drop Rapids, Cataract Canyon
1488:Canyons and gorges of Garfield County, Utah
1241:International Boundary and Water Commission
387:National Park Service, Retrieved 2009-10-27
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372:National Park Service, Retrieved 2009-10-27
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206:International Scale of River Difficulty
309:Native American History of Canyonlands
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1483:Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
1303:Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
1183:Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
385:High water videos of Cataract Canyon
290:Geology of Canyonlands National Park
245:before reaching the take-out at the
44:Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
1493:Landforms of San Juan County, Utah
1221:Colorado River Board of California
1193:Lake Mead National Recreation Area
196:Cataract Canyon remains a popular
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370:Historic Flows in Cataract Canyon
1368:Rainbow Bridge National Monument
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1498:Landforms of Wayne County, Utah
80:Geology of the Canyonlands area
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321:Canyonlands European Explorers
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1128:Colorado–Big Thompson Project
16:Section of the Colorado River
1415:Risks to the Glen Canyon Dam
1198:Rocky Mountain National Park
1178:Dead Horse Point State Park
736:Lower Colorado River Valley
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1473:Canyons and gorges of Utah
1256:U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
1188:Grand Canyon National Park
1173:Colorado National Monument
352:History of Cataract Canyon
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1478:Canyonlands National Park
1168:Canyonlands National Park
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272:List of whitewater rivers
267:Canyonlands National Park
40:Canyonlands National Park
1092:Central Arizona Project
1082:Colorado River Aqueduct
1054:Theodore Roosevelt Lake
1014:Flaming Gorge Reservoir
323:(National Park Service)
311:(National Park Service)
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1358:Gregory Natural Bridge
1226:Colorado River Compact
1123:Boulder Canyon Project
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1215:Arizona v. California
859:Little Colorado River
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1454:37.87750; -110.29389
1420:Wahweap, Lake Powell
1394:Hite Crossing Bridge
1163:Arches National Park
1009:Fontenelle Reservoir
706:Colorado River Basin
646:Middle Granite Gorge
399:Retrieved 2009-10-27
137:Green River, Wyoming
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1251:Rapids and features
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651:Lower Granite Gorge
1261:William Mulholland
1097:All-American Canal
1087:San Diego Aqueduct
1049:Imperial Reservoir
869:Roaring Fork River
357:2010-07-03 at the
295:2009-10-30 at the
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129:John Wesley Powell
102:Indigenous peoples
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751:Palo Verde Valley
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341:978-0-06-095586-1
247:Dirty Devil River
125:Powell Expedition
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130:
126:
121:
119:
113:
111:
107:
103:
96:
94:
91:
87:
81:
72:
65:
63:
61:
57:
53:
49:
45:
41:
37:
33:
29:
21:
1430:
1363:Music Temple
1347:
1317:Coyote Gulch
1231:Floyd Dominy
1213:
1143:Yuma Project
943:Grand Valley
888:Virgin River
834:Fraser River
696:River course
672:Black Canyon
629:Grand Canyon
615:
580:Byers Canyon
392:
365:
347:
332:
328:
316:
304:
285:
255:
239:
232:
215:
202:Grand Canyon
195:
178:World War II
158:
154:Virgin River
150:Grand Canyon
122:
118:Denis Julien
114:
100:
83:
46:in southern
27:
26:
1452: /
1440:110°17′38″W
1353:Glen Canyon
1327:Lake Powell
1236:Lee's Ferry
1102:Alamo Canal
1077:Grand Ditch
1044:Lake Havasu
1039:Lake Mohave
1029:Lake Powell
1024:Navajo Lake
953:Glen Canyon
948:Price-Stubb
912:Engineering
864:Paria River
854:Kanab Creek
844:Green River
829:Eagle River
801:Tributaries
761:Alamo River
624:Glen Canyon
606:Ruby Canyon
585:Gore Canyon
251:Hite Marina
243:Lake Powell
235:Lake Powell
146:Lake Powell
141:Green River
60:Lake Powell
52:Green River
1467:Categories
1437:37°52′39″N
1377:Facilities
978:Palo Verde
839:Gila River
809:Blue River
771:Salton Sea
716:Grand Lake
495:New Mexico
474:California
278:References
170:Hoover Dam
1332:Padre Bay
1034:Lake Mead
938:Windy Gap
903:Río Hardy
766:New River
589:Red Gorge
222:support.
133:Civil War
983:Imperial
481:Colorado
355:Archived
293:Archived
261:See also
110:Rock art
1408:Related
1341:Geology
993:Morelos
573:Canyons
516:Mexico
509:Wyoming
467:Arizona
97:History
66:Geology
34:of the
1070:canals
988:Laguna
968:Parker
958:Hoover
933:Granby
528:Sonora
488:Nevada
450:system
339:
299:(USGS)
32:canyon
963:Davis
781:Delta
502:Utah
337:ISBN
48:Utah
42:and
249:or
1469::
377:^
156:.
1295:e
1288:t
1281:v
881:/
440:e
433:t
426:v
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