Fortymile Gulch

The headwaters of Fortymile and Willow Gulches have their origins along a 7-mile (11 km)[1] segment of the Straight Cliffs, the eastern edge of the Kaiparowits Plateau.

Intermittent streams merge to form larger branches, then combine to carve a deep canyon up to 500 feet (150 m) into sandstone layers before meeting the main channel of the Escalante River.

The northernmost branch is Fortymile Gulch, the historic location of the winter encampment of the San Juan Expedition.

Intent on founding a colony in southeastern Utah, they waited at Fortymile Springs in late 1879 while a smaller group prepared a perilous route down to the Colorado River at Hole-in-the-Rock.

Approximately one mile downstream is the spectacular Broken Bow Arch, named after a Native American artifact found nearby.