  right|location of the escalante river within utah the escalante river is a tributary of the colorado river. it is formed by the confluence of upper valley and birch creeks near the town of escalante in south-central utah, and from there flows southeast for approximately  before joining lake powell. its watershed includes the high forested slopes of the aquarius plateau, the east slope of the kaiparowits plateau and the high desert north of lake powell. it was the last river of its size to be discovered in the 48 contiguous u.s. states. the average discharge is approximately 146 cfs.  the river was first mapped and named by almon thompson, a member of the 1872 colorado river expedition led by john wesley powell. it was named after silvestre vÃ©lez de escalante, a franciscan missionary and the first known european explorer of the region. in 1776, escalante and his spanish superior francisco atanasio domÃ­nguez left from santa fe, new mexico on an attempt to reach monterey, california.katieri treimer, site research report, site no. 916, southwest colorado, earth metrics inc. and sri international for contel systems and the u.s. air force 1989 during this journey, usually referred to as the dominguez-escalante expedition, escalante and his companions passed by the grand canyon and were the first white men to enter utah. much of the escalante river's course is through sinuous sandstone gorges. the river and the rugged canyons which drain into it form a key section of grand staircase-escalante national monument. this spectacular region is a popular destination for hiking and backpacking. thumb|right|hiker crossing the escalante during spring floods in 2005. for most of the year, the escalante river is a small stream, easily stepped across or waded. during spring runoff and the summer monsoon, however, the river can become a raging, muddy torrent ten to one hundred times bigger. in some years, the river can be run using kayaks or [[canoe
Colorado_Plateau Landforms_of_Garfield_County,_Utah Landforms_of_Kane_County,_Utah Rivers_of_Utah Tributaries_of_the_Colorado_River_in_Utah