Tiff Mapel
Escalante-Class Member
Good morning, Wordlings,
Here is an old article from one of my favorite canyon visits--Iceberg Canyon. When we saw it back in 2003, beyond the dam was nothing like I'd ever seen on Powell. The kind of place that just takes your breath away. A few years ago I was able to get to Iceberg and saw that the landing area where you beached your boats and started to hike over the dam was absolutely trashed. I was so disappointed. Has anyone been there lately? Maybe we'll need to organize a trash run to Iceberg....
Tiff
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Iceberg Canyon
June 21, 2003
Appeared in Fall/Winter 2003/2004 issue
Whoever heard of an iceberg in the desert? If you’ve been to Lake Powell, you have! Iceberg Canyon is located at buoy#78, between the Rincon and Slick Rock Canyon. Iceberg is a scenic canyon with a variety of branches and walls of Titanic proportions.
It is one of the deepest canyons on the lake as well as one of the highest-walled canyons. Iceberg contains a variety of ruins and remnants of rock slides. One in particular, the “Wide Rock Spall,” is located at the mouth of Iceberg on the left wall. It is known to have slid twice: in 1971 and again in 1974, as the rising waters of Lake Powell crept up to it.
It’s customary for Lake Powell canyons to be named after their explorers, or inspirations to their explorers. Likewise, Iceberg Canyon was named by three explorers: Tad Nichols, a photographer; Frank Wright, a boatman; and Katie Lee, a singer/songwriter/actress from Hollywood.
These longtime friends referred to themselves as “We Three” and explored the natural beauty of Glen Canyon from 1950 to 1963, when the dam closed and the lake began to come up. They were responsible for naming many of the side canyons of Glen Canyon for mapping by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The three friends named Iceberg Canyon for the cold, shaded pool you had to go through in its depths. Unless you had a raft of some sort, it was difficult and chilling to cross.
Looking up at the ancient Navajo Sandstone walls, I could only guess how Iceberg appeared on its first discovery: like a prehistoric iceberg had gouged its way down the canyon, leaving sculpted sandstone walls in its wake.
True, too, with the frequent rock slides that occur in the canyon, Iceberg could be said to be “calving” like an iceberg—when large chunks of ice fall from the face of an iceberg. This noble canyon is appropriately named.
On the Summer Solstice of June 21, I rendezvoused at the mouth of Iceberg with friends from Colorado and Dave Tate and Caron Roper from Arizona. We had our inflatable rafts ready to do some serious exploration of a little-known part of Iceberg. In the second right branch of the canyon heading south, it doesn’t go very far before it dead-ends into a natural dam of rocks and sand, with bare cottonwood trees rising like ghosts from the water.
We beached our boats on the sandy shore among the trees, and proceeded to hike over the dam with our inflatable rafts and paddles in hand. The hike is not a difficult or long one. What awaited us on the other side of the dam was a vast expanse of water. It wasn’t an empty salt flat, as some had previously believed. The level of the water in this isolated lake was about 20 to 30 feet higher than in the rest of the lake. This led me to believe that this higher water was being fed by a spring somewhere at the end of the canyon. The water quality looked good for being isolated for years. Here, too, ghostly trees broke the surface, making for some excellent fish and turtle habitat—a thriving ecosystem.
No one knows when the east wall fell down and created the dam. I hope no people or animals were in harm’s way during this cataclysmic event. It likely happened soon after 1980, when the lake filled to full-pool, as the white water line is evident in this part of the canyon. When the water is at full-pool it can spill over the top of the natural dam, allowing fish that are brave enough to swim through those shallows to go from one water-course to the next. The fish behind the dam have been isolated for nearly a decade, and somehow they are thriving. Minnows can be seen flashing in schools close to shore. Larger fish will jump at the surface, particularly in late afternoon. I’ve heard from a very reliable fishing source that this isolated “lake” is largemouth bass heaven! There likely aren’t any striped bass in this side, as they would have decimated their limited shad food source quickly and died off slowly. But anglers beware: with all the trees in this water, it’s easy to snag your line, and you’ll lose your lunker. Old fishing line wrapped in the exposed treetops at the surface will attest to many attempts to land the big ones.
With Dave in his version of Lake Powell’s very own “Nessie,” and Caron and I in our more utilitarian raft, we shoved off from shore and paddled into the veritable cottonwood graveyard. It was eerie seeing the trees rising up from the water—so many of them. Navigating through them proved challenging, including the stumps that were just beneath the water level. Fish jumped all around us.
Our peaceful paddle through nearly a half-mile of water ended in a huge shallow sandy flat. My first impression upon beaching the rafts was how impossibly and intensely green it was. It was an explosion of color: the streaked Navajo Sandstone walls were brilliant in the mid-day sun—their stark red coloring enhanced the blue of the clear sky and the green of the canyon floor. The base of the canyon was immense, and it branched off into three wide canyons. In the flats, there was a huge dead cottonwood with an eagle nest high in its branches. One remnant of a large tree was charred black. It looked like it was struck by lightning, as the trees around it were charred as well. We stood there in awe of a magnificent place at Powell we had never seen before.
On shore in the shallows, we noticed heron tracks. The large birds must love this desert oasis. What a peaceful place to live and thrive. Swallows chittered and swooped above us, apparently alarmed by our presence. We set off on our hike into the left branch of the canyon. We could see a large alcove at the end, and a sea of greenery to get there.
Perhaps the saddest thing we observed as we set out was the dried up pools in the sand. In a large empty pool about the size of two bathtubs, a mat of dead tadpoles covered the bottom. The water had evaporated too soon for them to become frogs or toads. There must have been hundreds of them. They lay there entwined, baking in the hot sun. They had probably been that way for the last week or two. We arrived too late to have saved them.
We followed a flood wash or game trail through the tall grasses. Deer tracks were present here. They must come down from the rim of the canyon on an old stock trail. As we walked, frogs and toads were hopping around us on all sides. There was certainly no shortage of amphibians here.
Of the two species of frogs present at Lake Powell, we saw plenty of leopard frogs. The other species, the canyon tree frog, is more rare, and a nocturnal species. Toads were abundant as well, hopping out of our path frantically. There were larger toads, either Rocky Mountain Toads, or Spadefoot Toads, and smaller ones no larger than your thumbnail.
Western whiptail lizards, which can reach a foot in length or more, darted around us—even over our feet as we walked. They were like small dinosaurs, crashing through the grass, their tails whipping back and forth.
If ever there was a desert jungle, this is definitely it. The foliage became thicker the further we walked up the canyon. There were many flowers in bloom, including a patch of tall Indian Paintbrush. Tamarisk and willows shaded us as we walked. The reed-like grass was so thick and came up to our knees. At times we’d walk on the densely matted grass, never even touching the ground. The cattails were over our heads and reached over seven feet tall. Traveling through this jungle would have been much easier with a machete. We felt dwarfed by the huge plants. To see a large diplodocus quietly munching grass, or a pterodactyl soaring above, would not have been odd here. The place looks truly prehistoric.
I expected to find a stream or spring in this side of the canyon, since it was so green, but we didn’t find any. We never stepped in any water. The plants must get their water from underground. As we worked our way to the end of the left branch, we climbed up onto the slick rock, and out of the green swath of life. There were cactus, sage, pinyon and juniper trees, and dried grasses here, and it was quite a bit warmer than in the jungle—two very different ecosystems, both contained in one canyon.
There was a high alcove at the end of the canyon; a beautiful desert-varnish-streaked wall with a plunge pool beneath it from storm-borne waterfalls. There was still a bit of water left in it from the last storm, and a few living tadpoles, too.
In the right branch of the canyon behind the dam, the greenery spreads here too. This side is quite a bit wetter, as there is a spring at the end. There are also more caves and alcoves in the slick rock. It is a short easy hike over the exposed rock.
The middle branch of this canyon contains the Mat House Ruin, according to Michael R. Kelsey’s Boater’s Guide to Lake Powell. From the artifacts discovered at this ruin, it is believed to have been in use in the early 1200s. We didn’t get to observe Mat House, as it is quite a long way up the canyon, and well above the high water mark. I’ll save that for another adventure.
Once you plan to explore this wondrous canyon beyond the dam, go early to allow yourself a few hours to enjoy it. Take plenty of water and snap plenty of pictures. Make sure you have a sturdy inflatable raft with paddles. Don’t go alone. Wear sun screen. Be safe. Remember, you are a guest in this canyon, and you are not there to disrupt or threaten this delicate ecosystem—so better to leave the machete at home. Be a silent observer, and enjoy what Iceberg has to offer.
The rest of Iceberg Canyon contains a few good campsites at low water. At high water they virtually disappear, as the near-vertical walls go straight into the water. At the end of the main fork of Iceberg is a spring that issues from the sandstone wall, between the Navajo and Kayenta formations. This stream flows year-round and has a hiking trail on the north side of it that leads to the end of the canyon, and quite a pile of dry fall. On the main channel of Iceberg heading into the canyon, the second left branch contains two sites of ruins. These are on opposite sides of the mouth of this branch. These ruins were used as storage structures during the 1200s. There is also one small ruin tucked high into the wall at the mouth of the dammed canyon, directly across the channel from the two other ruins.
As I researched details about Iceberg Canyon, it was interesting to note that a club of Utah divers particularly enjoy Iceberg as a premier diving location. They claim Iceberg has the clearest water and more fish than any other dive site on the lake. Their underwater pictures on the internet clearly show the divers and the many fish they encountered.
Iceberg Canyon has much to offer. It is truly a unique and special spot in Powell country, both above and below the water. This is one iceberg you won’t mind running into; the most noble Iceberg of the desert.
Here is an old article from one of my favorite canyon visits--Iceberg Canyon. When we saw it back in 2003, beyond the dam was nothing like I'd ever seen on Powell. The kind of place that just takes your breath away. A few years ago I was able to get to Iceberg and saw that the landing area where you beached your boats and started to hike over the dam was absolutely trashed. I was so disappointed. Has anyone been there lately? Maybe we'll need to organize a trash run to Iceberg....
Tiff
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Iceberg Canyon
June 21, 2003
Appeared in Fall/Winter 2003/2004 issue
Whoever heard of an iceberg in the desert? If you’ve been to Lake Powell, you have! Iceberg Canyon is located at buoy#78, between the Rincon and Slick Rock Canyon. Iceberg is a scenic canyon with a variety of branches and walls of Titanic proportions.
It is one of the deepest canyons on the lake as well as one of the highest-walled canyons. Iceberg contains a variety of ruins and remnants of rock slides. One in particular, the “Wide Rock Spall,” is located at the mouth of Iceberg on the left wall. It is known to have slid twice: in 1971 and again in 1974, as the rising waters of Lake Powell crept up to it.
It’s customary for Lake Powell canyons to be named after their explorers, or inspirations to their explorers. Likewise, Iceberg Canyon was named by three explorers: Tad Nichols, a photographer; Frank Wright, a boatman; and Katie Lee, a singer/songwriter/actress from Hollywood.
These longtime friends referred to themselves as “We Three” and explored the natural beauty of Glen Canyon from 1950 to 1963, when the dam closed and the lake began to come up. They were responsible for naming many of the side canyons of Glen Canyon for mapping by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The three friends named Iceberg Canyon for the cold, shaded pool you had to go through in its depths. Unless you had a raft of some sort, it was difficult and chilling to cross.
Looking up at the ancient Navajo Sandstone walls, I could only guess how Iceberg appeared on its first discovery: like a prehistoric iceberg had gouged its way down the canyon, leaving sculpted sandstone walls in its wake.
True, too, with the frequent rock slides that occur in the canyon, Iceberg could be said to be “calving” like an iceberg—when large chunks of ice fall from the face of an iceberg. This noble canyon is appropriately named.
On the Summer Solstice of June 21, I rendezvoused at the mouth of Iceberg with friends from Colorado and Dave Tate and Caron Roper from Arizona. We had our inflatable rafts ready to do some serious exploration of a little-known part of Iceberg. In the second right branch of the canyon heading south, it doesn’t go very far before it dead-ends into a natural dam of rocks and sand, with bare cottonwood trees rising like ghosts from the water.
We beached our boats on the sandy shore among the trees, and proceeded to hike over the dam with our inflatable rafts and paddles in hand. The hike is not a difficult or long one. What awaited us on the other side of the dam was a vast expanse of water. It wasn’t an empty salt flat, as some had previously believed. The level of the water in this isolated lake was about 20 to 30 feet higher than in the rest of the lake. This led me to believe that this higher water was being fed by a spring somewhere at the end of the canyon. The water quality looked good for being isolated for years. Here, too, ghostly trees broke the surface, making for some excellent fish and turtle habitat—a thriving ecosystem.
No one knows when the east wall fell down and created the dam. I hope no people or animals were in harm’s way during this cataclysmic event. It likely happened soon after 1980, when the lake filled to full-pool, as the white water line is evident in this part of the canyon. When the water is at full-pool it can spill over the top of the natural dam, allowing fish that are brave enough to swim through those shallows to go from one water-course to the next. The fish behind the dam have been isolated for nearly a decade, and somehow they are thriving. Minnows can be seen flashing in schools close to shore. Larger fish will jump at the surface, particularly in late afternoon. I’ve heard from a very reliable fishing source that this isolated “lake” is largemouth bass heaven! There likely aren’t any striped bass in this side, as they would have decimated their limited shad food source quickly and died off slowly. But anglers beware: with all the trees in this water, it’s easy to snag your line, and you’ll lose your lunker. Old fishing line wrapped in the exposed treetops at the surface will attest to many attempts to land the big ones.
With Dave in his version of Lake Powell’s very own “Nessie,” and Caron and I in our more utilitarian raft, we shoved off from shore and paddled into the veritable cottonwood graveyard. It was eerie seeing the trees rising up from the water—so many of them. Navigating through them proved challenging, including the stumps that were just beneath the water level. Fish jumped all around us.
Our peaceful paddle through nearly a half-mile of water ended in a huge shallow sandy flat. My first impression upon beaching the rafts was how impossibly and intensely green it was. It was an explosion of color: the streaked Navajo Sandstone walls were brilliant in the mid-day sun—their stark red coloring enhanced the blue of the clear sky and the green of the canyon floor. The base of the canyon was immense, and it branched off into three wide canyons. In the flats, there was a huge dead cottonwood with an eagle nest high in its branches. One remnant of a large tree was charred black. It looked like it was struck by lightning, as the trees around it were charred as well. We stood there in awe of a magnificent place at Powell we had never seen before.
On shore in the shallows, we noticed heron tracks. The large birds must love this desert oasis. What a peaceful place to live and thrive. Swallows chittered and swooped above us, apparently alarmed by our presence. We set off on our hike into the left branch of the canyon. We could see a large alcove at the end, and a sea of greenery to get there.
Perhaps the saddest thing we observed as we set out was the dried up pools in the sand. In a large empty pool about the size of two bathtubs, a mat of dead tadpoles covered the bottom. The water had evaporated too soon for them to become frogs or toads. There must have been hundreds of them. They lay there entwined, baking in the hot sun. They had probably been that way for the last week or two. We arrived too late to have saved them.
We followed a flood wash or game trail through the tall grasses. Deer tracks were present here. They must come down from the rim of the canyon on an old stock trail. As we walked, frogs and toads were hopping around us on all sides. There was certainly no shortage of amphibians here.
Of the two species of frogs present at Lake Powell, we saw plenty of leopard frogs. The other species, the canyon tree frog, is more rare, and a nocturnal species. Toads were abundant as well, hopping out of our path frantically. There were larger toads, either Rocky Mountain Toads, or Spadefoot Toads, and smaller ones no larger than your thumbnail.
Western whiptail lizards, which can reach a foot in length or more, darted around us—even over our feet as we walked. They were like small dinosaurs, crashing through the grass, their tails whipping back and forth.
If ever there was a desert jungle, this is definitely it. The foliage became thicker the further we walked up the canyon. There were many flowers in bloom, including a patch of tall Indian Paintbrush. Tamarisk and willows shaded us as we walked. The reed-like grass was so thick and came up to our knees. At times we’d walk on the densely matted grass, never even touching the ground. The cattails were over our heads and reached over seven feet tall. Traveling through this jungle would have been much easier with a machete. We felt dwarfed by the huge plants. To see a large diplodocus quietly munching grass, or a pterodactyl soaring above, would not have been odd here. The place looks truly prehistoric.
I expected to find a stream or spring in this side of the canyon, since it was so green, but we didn’t find any. We never stepped in any water. The plants must get their water from underground. As we worked our way to the end of the left branch, we climbed up onto the slick rock, and out of the green swath of life. There were cactus, sage, pinyon and juniper trees, and dried grasses here, and it was quite a bit warmer than in the jungle—two very different ecosystems, both contained in one canyon.
There was a high alcove at the end of the canyon; a beautiful desert-varnish-streaked wall with a plunge pool beneath it from storm-borne waterfalls. There was still a bit of water left in it from the last storm, and a few living tadpoles, too.
In the right branch of the canyon behind the dam, the greenery spreads here too. This side is quite a bit wetter, as there is a spring at the end. There are also more caves and alcoves in the slick rock. It is a short easy hike over the exposed rock.
The middle branch of this canyon contains the Mat House Ruin, according to Michael R. Kelsey’s Boater’s Guide to Lake Powell. From the artifacts discovered at this ruin, it is believed to have been in use in the early 1200s. We didn’t get to observe Mat House, as it is quite a long way up the canyon, and well above the high water mark. I’ll save that for another adventure.
Once you plan to explore this wondrous canyon beyond the dam, go early to allow yourself a few hours to enjoy it. Take plenty of water and snap plenty of pictures. Make sure you have a sturdy inflatable raft with paddles. Don’t go alone. Wear sun screen. Be safe. Remember, you are a guest in this canyon, and you are not there to disrupt or threaten this delicate ecosystem—so better to leave the machete at home. Be a silent observer, and enjoy what Iceberg has to offer.
The rest of Iceberg Canyon contains a few good campsites at low water. At high water they virtually disappear, as the near-vertical walls go straight into the water. At the end of the main fork of Iceberg is a spring that issues from the sandstone wall, between the Navajo and Kayenta formations. This stream flows year-round and has a hiking trail on the north side of it that leads to the end of the canyon, and quite a pile of dry fall. On the main channel of Iceberg heading into the canyon, the second left branch contains two sites of ruins. These are on opposite sides of the mouth of this branch. These ruins were used as storage structures during the 1200s. There is also one small ruin tucked high into the wall at the mouth of the dammed canyon, directly across the channel from the two other ruins.
As I researched details about Iceberg Canyon, it was interesting to note that a club of Utah divers particularly enjoy Iceberg as a premier diving location. They claim Iceberg has the clearest water and more fish than any other dive site on the lake. Their underwater pictures on the internet clearly show the divers and the many fish they encountered.
Iceberg Canyon has much to offer. It is truly a unique and special spot in Powell country, both above and below the water. This is one iceberg you won’t mind running into; the most noble Iceberg of the desert.
