Gates of Lodore
Facts:
- River: The Green River
- Rapid Rating: Class III-V
- Put in: The Gates of Lodore Ranger Station, in the Dinosaur
National Monument. (3 hours north from Vernal, Ut. and, about 1 hour from
Maybell Colorado.)
- Take-out location: Split Mountain boat ramp. (45 minutes from
Vernal, Utah)
- River Miles: 45 miles
- Number of rapids: 11 named rapids along with many other smaller
un-named rapids.
- First to run Gates of Lodore Canyon: Fur trapper, General William
Ashley in 1825.
Introduction
In 1869 Andrew Hall, a member of John Wesley Powell's expedition, named
The Gates of Lodore after a poem called, "The Cataract of Lodore," by Robert
Southey. The Canyon of Lodore lies in the upper end of the Dinosaur National
Monument, which was created in 1915 by President Woodrow Wilson. In 1938 the
park was enlarged to include this incredible canyon and the Yampa River. Lodore
has an exciting history including trappers, river runners and outlaws who were
traveling on their way to nearby the hideout, Browns Park.
Geology
The geology of the Gates of Lodore goes back beyond the age of dinosaurs
into the pre-Cambrian time period. As you enter the "gates" the river cuts
through the towering Uinta Mountain Group rock formation. (Which is billion
year old red quartzite.) As the river continues and leaves the Canyon of
Lodore, the rock changes into Weber sandstone and Limestone layers as well as
the spectacular Mitten Park Fault. After floating through Island Park and
admiring the great views of the Morrison Formation (Where dinosaur bones are
found!), the river cuts right through the Split Mountain Anticline.
Human History
The Native American history in this region dates back as far as the
Paleo Indians (8,000 years ago!). The Paleo Indians hunted big game animals
like giant bison, mammoths and giant camels. Following the Paleo Indians came
the semi-sedentary Desert Archaic Indians. The Fremont people who were nomadic
horticulturists left a part of their history along the canyon walls in the form
of rock art, leaving us many questions about who these people were and why they
disappeared.
The Gates of Lodore is on what today we call the Green River. The
Shoshone called it the Shetkadee (Prairie Hen) while the Ute called it the
Bitterroot. In September of 1776, the Franciscan Fathers Escalante and
Dominguez explored much of the West looking for new missions. They called the
Green River the San Buenaventura. In the 1820's trappers made their way into
these canyons on the river they called the Seeds-ke-dee-Agie or the Shetskedee
in search of fur. Finally the river was called the Rio Verde or, the Green
River.
General William Ashley was one of those trappers who made his way down
the "treacherous" rapids in search of rendezvous sites and beaver in 1825.
Trapper Dennis Julien left inscriptions all along the Green River including one
in Whirlpool Canyon dated 1838. John Wesley Powell set out on his first
expedition in 1869 despite being warned of the "sucks and waterfalls". Many
other river runners followed his expedition, including the Kolb brothers in
1911, Bus Hatch in the 1930's (one of the first commercial trips), and Buzz
Holmstrom's solo Green River trip in 1937. During the early 1900's, The Gates
of Lodore's nearby location to Browns Park brought in outlaws like Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Today this Canyon is one of the most popular
stretches of river for river runners.
