"The Last Canyon takes us deep into the heart of the elements, portraying in vivid detail the human quest to understand nature at all costs. In 1869 a one-armed Civil War hero named John Wesley Powell launched four boats on the Green River in Wyoming Territory, beginning what would be the last major voyage of discovery in American history, through the country's only remaining terra incognita: the remote and barren course of the Colorado River.". "Powell's adventure is a story of triumph, hardship, bravery, and ultimate tragedy. The Last Canyon traces simultaneously a voyage of discovery and a chronicle of loss, an exploration of both unknown land and the unplumbed human spirit."--BOOK JACKET.