Burt Loper - Green River UT
Posted by: 
kJfishman
N 38° 59.751 W 110° 09.628
12S E 572701 N 4316651
Burt Loper pioneer of the sport of whitewater river-running
Waymark Code: WM9ZBV
Location: Utah, United States
Date Posted: 10/21/2010
Views: 4
Burt Loper was the pioneer of the sport of whitewater river-running.
"Burt Loper Pioneer - Soldier - Prospector Born July 31 1869 at Bowling Green Missouri Lost July 8 1949 in the vastness of the Grand Canton. The Land of the blue horizon and the silent desert mesas that he loved so much "I belong to the wonderful west and the west belongs to me" "
Loper was born the day John Wesley Powell discovered the confluence of the Colorado and San Juan Rivers. Twenty-five years later, Loper discovered his love of river running while placer mining on the San Juan. In 1920, Loper acted as lead boatmen on the USGS survey mission to find a suitable damsite in the Black Canyon, the future site of Hoover Dam. Notable water czar William Mulholland also joined this expedition.
Loper died while running his self-built boat, The Grand Canyon, through 24½ Mile Rapid in the Marble Gorge of the Grand Canyon at the age of 79. A monument to his life and accomplishments on the Colorado remains at the site where his rivercraft is decaying. Norman Nevills, the famous Colorado guide when finding the wreck, noted its shoddy construction.
A large monument to Bert Loper stands in what is considered his hometown of Green River, Utah.
Bert is the protagonist of a great song written and performed by Tom Russell, "Beneath Canyon Walls." source see link listed below
Website with more information on either the memorial or the person(s) it is dedicated to: [Web Link]
Location: OK Anderson City Park
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