The desert southwest is famous for arid landscapes, exposed red rock buttes, arches and some of the grandest canyons carved into our precious planet earth. These canyons are singularly spectacular, but the rivers that carved them are as raucous and rowdy - and then as serene and solemn as the sunsets that set the canyon walls ablaze. A multi-day rafting expedition in the desert southwest may surprise you with lush surroundings in some high desert canyons, or deep in hidden waterfall grottoes. Get out there and explore!
Compared to greener locations, one may assume that there are not many rivers to choose from for rafting in the Desert Southwest, but the desert is like the ocean, with its life underground and the perfect disguise up above... Canyons, deep and gorgeous canyons, are everywhere in the desert river basins. From the birthplace of modern day river-running on the Green River near Vernal, Utah to the “Mighty Colorado River”, and the world-famous canyons it carved, to the Rio Grande on the New Mexico and Texas borders, the canyons of the southwest offer a lot to explore. This high desert region is made up of several river basins such as the Great Basin, Rio Grande Basin, and the Texas Gulf Coast Basin.
