A guide to place names along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon from Lake Powell to Lake Mead.

River to Rim tells the stories of rapids, temples, and points in the Grand Canyon: who named what and when, quotations from explorers, names given by tourists and river runners, and the events that gave rise to the place names. Whether you are viewing the scenery from the rim, running the river, or hiking the trails, here are the stories of over 600 place names along 300 miles of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon on a mile-by-mile sequence. The names of the Grand Canyon rock layers are given that tell the deep time stories of the canyon’s layers. Place names in this Third Edition of 300 pages are indexed and tied to a bibliography of over 280 entries.

A place name helps us remember and identify the many locations we encounter throughout our lives. Descriptive place names that reflect the site’s history enrich our memories. This guide provides a history of these place names, detailing points of interest, tributaries, campsites, recent names used by river runners, and various terrains and rock formations, along with associated Native American tribes. Both official and common names are presented in a mile-by-mile order as the Colorado River travels from Lake Powell to Lake Mead, with river distances (RM) rounded to the nearest half mile. It also includes information about who named the place, when, and why, following U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) lists or map references for spelling. Rapid names are formatted in plural, as seen on USGS topographic maps. Anecdotal details highlight notable people or events, and earlier or alternative names are also provided. A few sample pages below show an example of the River to Rim content.