American Experience

Season 11 Episode 7: Lost in the Grand Canyon

36 SeasonsApr 05, 1999TV-PG1h6.4

In the summer of 1869, a one-armed Civil War veteran led the first expedition down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. John Wesley Powell's epic journey into the unknown established the Grand Canyon as a national landmark, and made him a hero. But when he used his fame to argue against the overdevelopment of the West, Powell was attacked.

American Experience background

Season 11 Episodes:

Episode 1 America 1900

1. America 1900

Aired: Nov 18, 1998

Exploration of life in America in the first year of the 20th century, using a...

Episode 2 Race for the Superbomb

2. Race for the Superbomb

Aired: Jan 11, 1999

History of the American and Soviet development of the H-bomb.

Episode 3 Hoover Dam

Aired: Jan 18, 1999

Rising more than 700 feet above the raging waters of the Colorado River, it w...

Episode 4 Alone on the Ice

4. Alone on the Ice

Aired: Feb 8, 1999

Commander Richard Byrd's winter at the South Pole.

Episode 5 Rescue at Sea

5. Rescue at Sea

Aired: Feb 15, 1999

On January 23, 1909, two ships -- one carrying Italian immigrants to New York...

Episode 6 Meltdown at Three Mile Island

6. Meltdown at Three Mile Island

Aired: Feb 22, 1999

The worst nuclear-power-plant accident in U.S. history.

Episode 7 Lost in the Grand Canyon

7. Lost in the Grand Canyon

Aired: Apr 5, 1999

In the summer of 1869, a one-armed Civil War veteran led the first expedition...

Episode 8 Riding the Rails

8. Riding the Rails

Aired: May 17, 1999

The story of young teens who hopped freight trains in search of work and adve...

Episode 9 Fly Girls

Aired: May 18, 1999

The story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) in World War II.

Episode 10 MacArthur

Aired: May 24, 1999

Biography of U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur. Part one looks at his early...

Main Cast

Peter CoyoteJohn Wesley Powell

Creators

Mark DavisDirector

Info about American Experience

Current Status: Returning Series

Network: PBS

Production Country: United States

Genres:Documentary, History, Biography