River, chiefly in Wyoming and Utah, the largest tributary of the Colorado, rising near summit of Wind River Range of the Continental Divide, Sublette County, Wyoming, ... flows N. W. about twenty miles, thence southerly, entering Utah ... and after making a small loop in Colorado, continues southwest in Utah to its confluence with the Colorado River ... . (Decisions, 1931) The river in Wyoming and Utah was so called from the green shale through which it flows. (Gannett, 1905) River, rising in the Wind River range of the Rocky Mountains, formerly known as popo agie, words of the Crow dialect meaning "head of river." (Gannett, 1905) Referred to by the Indians as Seeds-kee-dee or prairie hen river. It generally so appears in the literature and correspondence of the time. The name Green River began to come into general use about 1833, although it dates back as far as 1824. Its origin is uncertain. Bancroft says it was given by one of Ashley's men, but it was certainly in use before Ashley was in the country, for William Becknell has left a narrative of a trip that he made from Santa Fe to Green River in 1824, and the name was evidently a fixture at that time among the Spanish. Fremont says that it was the "Rio Verde of the Spaniards" and adds that the refreshing appearance of the broad river, with its timbered shores and green wooded islands, in contrast to its dry sandy plains, probably obtained for it the name of Green River. This does not seem unreasonable, although some who are well acquainted with the characteristics of the river are more inclined to attribute the name to the appearance of the water, which is a very pronounced green, than to the foliage in the valley, which is in no marked degree different from that along other streams in this locality. (WPA)
Other Names:
San Buenaventura, Ka'na River, Rio River, Rio Verde, San Buenaventura River, Seedskeedee-agie River, Skeedskeedee-agie River, Spanish River, Stroud Creek, Verde River, Seeds-ke-dee, Popo Agie
County:
Sublette; Lincoln; Sweetwater
Feature Category:
Water Features
Description:
River, chiefly in Wyoming and Utah, the largest tributary of the Colorado, rising near summit of Wind River Range of the Continental Divide, Sublette County, Wyoming, ... flows N. W. about twenty miles, thence southerly, entering Utah ... and after making a small loop in Colorado, continues southwest in Utah to its confluence with the Colorado River ... . (Decisions, 1931)
