The Dirty Devil River Crossing is a fun point on the Poison Spring trail 40 miles south of Hanksville Utah.The River starts out in Hanksville at the confluence of the Muddy Creek and Fremont rivers, it continues to flow 80 miles south and becomes a tributary of the Colorado river, which was under the waters of Lake Powell, but due to lower levels can now be seen.

The River got its name from the Powell Geographical Expedition in 1869, when one of the explorers claimed “she was a dirty devil” when asked the condition of the river.

The river has an extremely high salt content, and there was a plan implemented in the eighties to reduce the salinity by collecting salty spring water. The plan completed in 1987 was never implemented due to the marginal cost returns.

The crossing can vary in its height and flow rate especially after higher snowpack levels. These levels can be checked at the Hans Flat Ranger station and USGS water monitoring website.

Hans Flat Ranger Station

(435) 259-2652

https://waterwatch.usgs.gov/?m=real&r=ut&w=map

COPPER GLOBE MINE.

38.80312463885838, -110.91094371996786

Located in the San Rafael region just south of the I-70, this very unique deserted mine is located on the Devils Canyon & Copper Globe mine trail, which is a connector to the Sulphur Canyon overlook and the Devils Canyon Trails. These create a nice loop trail from the Interstate back to the Interstate.

The Copper Globe Mining area is a great opportunity for visitors to explore this very historic mine that was in operation from the 1900 – 1905. The Copper Globe mine is distinct from the mining in the surrounding area because it was a copper mine, rather than Uranium, which dominated the mining especially later in the Cold war era.

No copper was actually successfully smelted due to the low quality of the ore. Features at the site include mining cabins, mine tunnels, a water cistern and most interesting of all a 75’ long pile of lumber, it was believed that the miners left the Globe mine so quickly that the pile of firewood was never used fully for its purpose to fire the smelter.

You can enjoy exploring the whole site on lots of interesting trails which wind through the area.

The site is in a remote area, remember to bring water and supplies for your time at the site, and while the large pile of lumber is tempting, do not collect any of the wood for any reason as well as campfires due to the historical importance of the of this feature of the site.

Published by Colin Smith