Through time, travel patterns on the Colorado Plateau are determined by its geography – a landscape of rivers, canyons, high plateaus and deep swells. The Colorado River (known as the Grand until 1921) is one of the largest rivers in the United States; its drainage extends across seven states and most of the Rockies’ western slope.

The many tribes who lived on the Plateau before Euro-Americans arrived had names for the river as diverse as their cultures. The Havasupai name, Chicamimi Hackatai, means “Large Canyon with Roaring Sound.” The Navajo name, Bits lits Nineez translates to “River of Long Life Span.” The Paiutes gave it a name that translates to “Long Way Down To the Water.” And, the Hopi name is Pisishibauii, which means “Where The Water Flows.”

In the settler community of Moab, brave and enterprising businessmen saw the economic benefit of devising a crossing across the Colorado River. In 1882 Norman Taylor started piloting a 28-foot rowboat across the river, and two years later built a 60-foot boat capable of carrying a horse- or ox-drawn wagon pulled across the river by cables and ropes.

While years later efforts to improve ferry service continued, attempts to create a tour boat industry struggled. In 1901 the Undine, a 60-foot coal-powered was launched, tipped over and sank, the crew barely escaping with their lives. In 1905 a 55-foot boat named the City of Moab (its intended destination) was launched from Green River with much fanfare but its maiden voyage ended on a sandbar. After being repaired and renamed the Cliff Dweller, the craft continued to get stuck on sand bars and ended her service. Two years later the Black Eagle’s maiden voyage ended when her boiler exploded after copper tubes clogged with silt and melted.