Explorers

Men portage a wooden rowboat, "The City of Montrose," over boulders in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

Courtesy of Denver Public Library Special Collections, Z-7384

By the mid 1800s, exploration of the American West had captured the nation's attention. Expeditions came to the Black Canyon searching for railroad passageways, mineral wealth, and water. Eventually explorers came to see the canyon, not for commercial wealth, but for the renewal and recreation that it offered.