Western explorer John Wesley Powell found Flaming Gorge during his 1869 expedition and gave it its name. Part of the river was dammed off beginning in 1958 to create the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. The gorge straddles the Utah/Wyoming border in northeastern Utah and southwestern Wyoming.
History
Originally inhabited by the Fremont American Indians, then Ute tribes, trappers came upon the Flaming Gorge area in the 1800s. In 1869, famed explorer John Wesley Powell, for whom Lake Powell is named, led an expedition down the Green River mapping the area and found the gorge. He named it Flaming Gorge because of its rocky red cliffs.
Location
Flaming Gorge's northern tip is 10 miles from Green River, Wyoming, and 43 miles from Vernal, Utah. The closest town is Dutch John, Utah, which was built as a base camp during dam construction, then workers remained to maintain the dam.
Recreation
Visitors can boat, fish, camp and hike in Flaming Gorge during the warmer seasons and ski and snowmobile in the forests surrounding it during winter. Anglers and whitewater rafters utilize the Green River below the dam.
Dam Construction
Construction on the dam began in 1958 under the direction of the Bureau of Reclamation. Crews finished it in 1964. The Flaming Gorge Dam generates hydroelectric power. It was established as a recreation area on Oct. 1, 1968.
Fishing
Anglers, especially fly fishers, enjoy the clear, cold water and rapids below the dam. They fish for rainbow trout, lake trout and other sport fish such as brown trout and channel catfish.
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