John Wesley Powell River History MuseumJohn Wesley Powell River History MuseumIn 1938, Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter embarked on a river trip from Green River, UT that would take them past the confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers, down the entire length of the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon, and over 650 miles of uninhabited desert. The expedition, led by Norm Nevills, made the two botanists the first women to successfully run the entire length of the river, through the dangers and isolation of the Grand Canyon.
Their presence on the trip is significant. The only other woman to attempt the trip at the time, Bessie Hyde, disappeared on the river in 1928. A year prior to the ‘38 expedition, Amelia Earhart disappeared during her attempted solo flight around the world. Gender expectations heavily dictated the roles that men and women played across the country, and many were skeptical of two women making the trip down the big river.
lois jotter
As an academic botanist at the University of Michigan, Clover helped organize the expedition with the intent to collect and catalog plant species along the bottom of the canyon. She and Jotter, a 24 year old graduate student in botany and biology, opened the canyon up to science in a way that had not been seen since the John Wesley Powell expeditions of the nineteenth century. They discovered four cactus species on the expedition and completed the only comprehensive botanical survey of the of the rivers before the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation began construction of the Hoover dam.
Elzada Clover diary
Much like other Hall of Fame members, Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter Cutter’s legacy on the Colorado River is one of being first. They earned their claim to being the first women to run the entire Colorado River, while expanding our scientific understanding of the landscape, and they proved to the world that it was not just a place for men.
Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00am – 5:00pm
Adults (18+)
Seniors (62+)
Children (7-17)
Family
$8
$6
$3
$25
Free admission for children under 7, museum members, and Green River residents.