The Colorado River, flowing from the Rocky Mountains through the arid Southwest to the Gulf of California, was a challenging waterway—shallow, swift, and prone to sandbars, floods, and shifting channels. Despite these obstacles, steam-powered vessels played a vital role in its navigation from the mid-19th century until the early 20th century. Primarily operating on the lower Colorado River (from the Gulf of California upstream to areas near modern-day Nevada), steamboats transported military supplies, miners, settlers, and freight, fueling the development of Arizona, California, Nevada, and parts of Mexico. They were the most economical means of moving goods across the desert until railroads supplanted them.
Early Attempts and the Birth of Steam Navigation (1850–1854)
The need for reliable transport arose after the Mexican-American War (1846–1848), when the U.S. Army established Fort Yuma at the confluence of the Gila and Colorado Rivers to protect emigrants heading to California during the Gold Rush. Supplying the isolated fort overland from San Diego cost up to $500 per ton. River transport from the Gulf of California offered a cheaper alternative.
Initial efforts used schooners and barges. In 1850–1851, the schooner Invincible and longboats reached only partway upriver. Lieutenant George Derby recommended shallow-draft sternwheel steamboats.
The first successful steamboat was the small iron-hulled Uncle Sam, a 65-foot tug with a 20-horsepower engine, assembled at the river’s mouth in 1852 by Captain James Turnbull. It reached Fort Yuma in December 1852 but later proved unreliable and sank.
In 1853–1854, George Alonzo Johnson, partnering with Benjamin M. Hartshorne and others, formed George A. Johnson & Company. They brought parts for the sidewheeler General Jesup from San Francisco, assembling it at the river mouth. The General Jesup carried 50 tons of cargo to Fort Yuma in five days, reducing costs to $75 per ton and proving commercial viability.
Expansion and Exploration (1855–1860s)
Johnson’s company built wood yards staffed by Cocopah Indians and added vessels like the sternwheeler Colorado (1855, captained by Isaac Polhamus) and others. By the late 1850s, steamboats regularly serviced Fort Yuma and emerging mining camps.
Exploration pushed limits:
- In 1857, Johnson took the General Jesup to El Dorado Canyon (near Las Vegas).
- The U.S. Army’s 1857–1858 expedition, led by Lt. Joseph Christmas Ives, used the 54-foot iron steamboat Explorer (built in Philadelphia and reassembled on the river). It reached Black Canyon but struck a rock; Ives deemed further navigation impractical at low water. Johnson later bought the Explorer and converted it to a barge.
Mormon leader Brigham Young sought a sea-to-Utah route via the Colorado. In 1864–1866, Anson Call established Callville (near modern Lake Mead) as a potential port. Steamboats like the Esmeralda reached it in 1866.
Boom Years: Mining Rushes and Competition (1860s–1870s)
The 1862 Colorado River gold rush near La Paz (Arizona) and later discoveries in Eldorado Canyon and elsewhere created explosive demand. Ports like Ehrenberg, Hardyville, and Aubrey emerged. Steamboats hauled machinery, food, and ore, often towing barges for extra capacity.
George A. Johnson & Company dominated initially but faced rivals like Thomas Trueworthy’s Union Line in the 1860s. Competition ended when Johnson’s company absorbed opponents. In 1869, it reorganized as the Colorado Steam Navigation Company (C.S.N.Co.), expanding the fleet with vessels like Cocopah, Mohave, and larger ones like the 149-foot Mohave II (1876) and Gila.
Key captains included Isaac Polhamus (“Dean of the Colorado River”) and later Jack Mellon. Ocean steamships connected San Francisco to the river mouth at Port Isabel, feeding river traffic.
Peak and Decline (1870s–1900s)
The 1870s marked the peak, with scheduled services and luxurious boats offering passenger excursions. The C.S.N.Co. monopolized trade, profiting immensely from military contracts, mining,, and Mormon supplies.
Railroads spelled doom. The Southern Pacific reached Yuma in 1877, bridging the river. That year, Johnson and partners sold the C.S.N.Co. to Southern Pacific interests for a massive profit. Steamboats continued but focused on upper reaches and local freight.
Later vessels included the Cochan (1900, the last major sternwheeler) and Searchlight (1903–1909), hauling ore from Nevada mines.
End of an Era (1909–1916)
The 1909 completion of Laguna Dam (for irrigation) blocked navigation. Final operations involved limited freight and dam-related work. The last commercial steamboat, Searchlight, retired around 1916.
Attempts on the upper Colorado (e.g., Glen Canyon, Green River) were short-lived due to rapids and low water.
Legacy
For over 50 years, Colorado River steamboats connected isolated frontiers, enabling settlement and extraction in a harsh desert. They carried millions in gold, supplied forts and mines, and linked the Pacific to inland territories. Though overshadowed by railroads and dams, their era transformed the Southwest, leaving behind ghost towns, historic sites like Yuma Quartermaster Depot, and a romantic chapter in Western transportation history.
Colorado River Steamship Landings
| Potholes, California, From 1859 | 18 mi (29 km) |
| La Laguna, Arizona Territory, 1860-1863 | 20 mi (32 km) |
| Castle Dome Landing, Arizona Territory, 1863-1884 | 35 mi (56 km) |
| Eureka, Arizona Territory, 1863-1870s | 45 mi (72 km) |
| Williamsport, Arizona Territory, 1863-1870s | 47 mi (76 km) |
| Picacho, California, 1862-1910 | 48 mi (77 km) |
| Nortons Landing, Arizona Territory, 1882-1894 | 52 mi (84 km) |
| Clip, Arizona Territory, 1882-1888 | 70 mi (110 km) |
| California Camp, California | 72 mi (116 km) |
| Camp Gaston, California, 1859-1867 | 80 mi (130 km) |
| Drift Desert, Arizona Territory | 102 mi (164 km) |
| Bradshaw’s Ferry, California, 1862-1884 | 126 mi (203 km) |
| Mineral City, Arizona Territory, 1864-1866 | 126 mi (203 km) |
| Ehrenberg, Arizona Territory, from 1866 | 126.5 mi (203.6 km) |
| Olive City, Arizona Territory, 1862-1866 | 127 mi (204 km) |
| La Paz, Arizona Territory, 1862-1870 | 131 mi (211 km) |
| Parker’s Landing, Arizona Territory, 1864-1905 Camp Colorado, Arizona, 1864-1869 | 200 mi (320 km) |
| Parker, Arizona Territory, from 1908 | 203 mi (327 km) |
| Empire Flat, Arizona Territory, 1866-1905 | 210 mi (340 km) |
| Bill Williams River, Arizona | 220 mi (350 km) |
| Aubrey City, Arizona Territory, 1862-1888 | 220 mi (350 km) |
| Chimehuevis Landing, California | 240 mi (390 km) |
| Liverpool Landing, Arizona Territory | 242 mi (389 km) |
| Grand Turn, Arizona/California | 257 mi (414 km) |
| The Needles, Mohave Mountains, Arizona | 263 mi (423 km) |
| Mellen, Arizona Territory 1890 – 1909 | 267 mi (430 km) |
| Eastbridge, Arizona Territory 1883 – 1890 | 279 mi (449 km) |
| Needles, California, from 1883 | 282 mi (454 km) |
| Iretaba City, Arizona Territory, 1864 | 298 mi (480 km) |
| Fort Mohave, Arizona Territory, 1859-1890 Beale’s Crossing 1858 – | 300 mi (480 km) |
| Mohave City, Arizona Territory, 1864-1869 | 305 mi (491 km) |
| Hardyville, Arizona Territory, 1864-1893 Low Water Head of Navigation 1864-1881 | 310 mi (500 km) |
| Camp Alexander, Arizona Territory, 1867 | 312 mi (502 km) |
| Polhamus Landing, Arizona Territory Low Water Head of Navigation 1881-1882 | 315 mi (507 km) |
| Pyramid Canyon, Arizona/Nevada | 316 mi (509 km) |
| Cottonwood Island, Nevada Cottonwood Valley | 339 mi (546 km) |
| Quartette, Nevada, 1900-1906 | 342 mi (550 km) |
| Murphyville, Arizona Territory, 1891 | 353 mi (568 km) |
| Eldorado Canyon, Nevada, 1857-1905 Colorado City, Nevada 1861-1905 | 365 mi (587 km) |
| Explorer’s Rock, Black Canyon of the Colorado, Mouth, Arizona/Nevada | 369 mi (594 km) |
| Roaring Rapids, Black Canyon of the Colorado, Arizona/Nevada | 375 mi (604 km) |
| Ringbolt Rapids, Black Canyon of the Colorado, Arizona/Nevada | 387 mi (623 km) |
| Fortification Rock, Nevada High Water Head of Navigation, 1858-1866 | 400 mi (640 km) |
| Las Vegas Wash, Nevada | 402 mi (647 km) |
| Callville, Nevada, 1864-1869 High Water Head of Navigation 1866-78 | 408 mi (657 km) |
| Boulder Canyon, Mouth, Arizona/Nevada | 409 mi (658 km) |
| Stone’s Ferry, Nevada 1866-1876 | 438 mi (705 km) |
| Virgin River, Nevada | 440 mi (710 km) |
| Bonelli’s Ferry, 1876-1935 Rioville, Nevada 1869-1906 High Water Head of Navigation from 1879 to 1887 | 440 mi (710 km |
Colorado River Steamship Landings
Steamboats on the Colorado River
| Name | Type | Tons | Length | Beam | Launched | Disposition |
| Black Eagle | Screw | 40 feet | 6 feet | Green River, Utah June 1907 | Exploded 1907 | |
| Charles H. Spencer | Stern | 92.5 feet | 25 feet | Warm Creek, Arizona February 1912 | Abandoned Spring 1912 | |
| Cliff Dweller | Stern | 70 feet | 20 feet | Halverson’s Utah November 1905 | To Salt Lake April 1907 | |
| Cochan | Stern | 234 | 135 feet | 31 feet | Yuma, Arizona November 1899 | Dismantled Spring 1910 |
| Cocopah I | Stern | 140 feet | 29 feet | Gridiron, Mexico August 1859 | Dismantled 1867 | |
| Cocopah II | Stern | 231 | 147.5 feet | 28 feet | Yuma, Arizona March 1867 | Dismantled 1881 |
| Colorado I | Stern | 120 feet | Estuary, Mexico December 1855 | Dismantled August 1862 | ||
| Colorado II | Stern | 179 | 145 feet | 29 feet | Yuma, Arizona May 1862 | Dismantled August 1882 |
| Comet | Stern | 60 feet | 20 feet | Green River, Wyoming July 1908 | Abandoned 1908 | |
| Esmeralda | Stern | 93 feet | 13 feet | Robinson’s, Mexico December 1857 | Dismantled 1868 | |
| General Jesup | Side | 104 feet | 17 feet | Estuary, Mexico January, 1864 | Engine Removed 1858 | |
| General Rosales | Stern | Yuma, Arizona July 1878 | Dismantled 1859 | |||
| Gila | Stern | 236 | 149 feet | 31 feet | Port Isabel, Mexico January 1873 | Rebuilt as Cochan 1889 |
| Major Powell | Screw | 35 feet | 8 feet | Green River, Utah August 1891 | Dismantled 1894 | |
| Mohave I | Stern | 193 | 135 feet | 28 feet | Estuary, Mexico May 1864 | Dismantled 1875 |
| Mohave II | Stern | 188 | 149.5 feet | 31.5 feet | Port Isabel, Mexico February 1876 | Dismantled Jan 1900 |
| Nina Tilden | Stern | 120 | 97 feet | 22 feet | San Francisco, California July 1864 | Wrecked September 1874 |
| Retta | Stern | 36 feet | 6 feet | Yuma, Arizona 1900 | Sunk Feburary, 1905 | |
| St. Vallier | Stern | 92 | 74 feet | 17 feet | Needles, California Early 1899 | Sunk March 1909 |
| San Jorge | Screw | 38 feet | 9 feet | Yuma, Arizona June 1901 | To Gulf July 1901 | |
| Searchlight | Stern | 98 | 91 feet | 18feet | Needles, California December 1902 | Lost October 1916 |
| Uncle Sam | Side | 40 | 65 feet | 16 feet | Estuary, Mexico November 1852 | Sunk May 1853 |
| Undine | Stern | 60 feet | 10 feet | Green River, Utah November 1901 | Wrecked May 1902 |