double clickThree Springs Canyon - An Ecologically Diverse Meeting Point on the Colorado River
Grand Canyon
3 Day Expedition
Three Springs Canyon

Mile 215.5 - Three Springs Canyon

The collection of desert plants on the periphery of Three Springs Canyon is truly remarkable. With a well-honed eye, one can spot cacti, bushes, and other plants from three of the four Great American Deserts; the Great Basin, the Sonoran, and the Mojave. In the canyon itself, plant and animal life abound as three separate springs produce enough water to create a beautiful creek. On the rock walls near the creek, Native American pictographs (paintings) are present. Manos and metates, tools used for processing corn and other plant matter, are also nearby suggesting that canyon dwellers from the past used Three Springs as a gathering place. River runners will notice the impressive Hualapai Plateau looking up the canyon to the south and may also notice the unnamed natural arch high in the cliffs on the opposite side of the river.

Upper Gorge Grand Canyon

Upper Grand Canyon Mile by Mile »

The upper Grand Canyon, as traveled by Western's 6 or 7 day expedition begins at Lees Ferry (mile 0) and finishes at Whitmore Wash (mile 188)

See Lower Grand Canyon