Muddy River (Nevada)

[1] Near the town of Glendale the Muddy River collects the flow from the Meadow Valley Wash, forming the principal drainage system for southeastern Nevada.

The Moapa Valley area is home to a wide variety of rare and endangered species, including fish, invertebrates, birds, and plants.

Mormon pioneers blazed a wagon road from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles along this pack trail in 1847, followed by Forty-niners attempting to avoid the winter snows of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and wagon trains of Mormon colonists on their way to settle in San Bernardino in 1852.

Mormon settlers established several settlements in the Muddy River area in 1864, including the town of St. Thomas, which by 1938 was submerged under Lake Mead until recently.

For a variety of reasons, including the harsh climate, unpredictable periods of drought, and a tax dispute with the State of Nevada, the Mormons abandoned the area in 1871.