On May 24, 1869, one of the greatest adventures in the history of American exploration began. Civil War veteran Major John Wesley Powell and his company of 10 men began the first expedition down the untamed waters of the Green and Colorado Rivers.

River of Stone, a co-production of public television stations KUED-Salt Lake City and KAET-Phoenix, takes viewers on an epic journey through the heart of the Colorado Plateau using archival photographs and new footage from a recent re-enactment to bring the adventure to life.

Produced and filmed by KUEDís award-winning filmmaker John Howe, River of Stone tells the story of Powellís historic exploration and the changes that occurred with the subsequent use and abuse of the river system he charted.

Powell launched the unprecedented expedition to explore the last remaining tract of unknown wilderness in the continental United States ñ the thousand miles of canyons of the Green and Colorado River, rivers that seemed to vanish into the earth itself. The expedition was launched at Green River, Wyoming and 99days and 1,000 miles later, Powell and his companions had earned a place in history. While they completed the journey, they lost three men, important records and a boat.

Because much of the data from the original expedition was lost, the group embarked on a second trip in 1871 primarily to regather information. A photographer accompanied them on that trip. The second trip, which successfully recollected a lot of information, was never completed. They hiked out of Kanab Canyon, halfway through the Grand Canyon.

Over hundred and twenty years after the first expedition, Friends of the River, a conservation organization, embarked on a re-enactment of the first expedition, following the route of Powellís wooden dories through landscapes and waterways that had been greatly changed by human intervention.

Much of what Powell explored is now submerged under reservoirs like Flaming Gorge, Lake Powell, and Lake Mead. Plant non-indigenous to the region, such as tamarisk, have become weed pests against which reclamation has waged an unsuccessful war. Many of the animal species frequently encountered by Powellís 10-member expedition are either extinct or endangered, due in part to the changes in the riverís flow and environment. Furthermore, the Colorado Plateau that so impressed Powell with its 100-mile vistas of clarity is often so covered with environmental haze that merely seeing the other side of the Grand Canyon is uncertain.

Dramatic footage of the Friends of the Riverís run is alternated with some of the first photographs ever taken of the territories Powell explored. Interviews with veteran river guides Brad Dimmock and Brian Rasmussen, river historian Roy Webb, environmentalist Martin Litton and ecologist Michael Ghiglieri (who wrote the script) are combined with excerpts from Powellís writings to bring the history and controversies surrounding the river into focus.

River of Stone is made possible in part by R. Harold Burton, the George and Delores Dore Eccles Foundation and the Utah Humanities Council. The Associate producer is Jeff Elstad.