64 
The Colorado River 
6 miles wide. It is, like the few other valleys, an expansion of 
the canyon walls. There is considerable arable land, and the 
place possesses a remarkable climate. Though its general level 
is so high, around 5500 feet, it receives hardly any snow, and 
for this reason was long a favourite place for wintering cattle 
on the drive from Texas to California. It was a great rendez¬ 
vous, also, for the early trappers and traders, and here stood 
Looking up Green River Valley from below Union Pacific Railway Bridge. 
Photograph by C. R. Savage. 
Fort Davy Crockett, in those days famous. It was one of 
those necessary places of refuge and meeting, established when 
the trappers were pursuing their extermination of the beaver, 
which once were so numerous in all the Western country. The 
river enters this park from the solitudes of Red Canyon, a 
splendid chasm, 25 miles long, 2500 feet deep, and abounding 
in plunging waters. The name is from the colour of the sand¬ 
stone walls. Above it are three short canyons. Kingfisher, 
