See Willow Beach Gauging Station, Cable Tramway & Catwalk, Black Canyon, Nevada & Arizona

Add to My List Check Off

What is a gauging station? In this case, it was a station that measured the flow of the Colorado River in the canyon below the Hoover Dam--and it’s pretty cool to see. Originally, this station consisted of two gauging stations, both on the Nevada side of the Colorado River, connected by bucket tramway cars hanging from cables across the river. These met on the Arizona side by way of a combination of trail, catwalk, and a third tramway that extended across a side canyon to a residence and garage. The remaining structures considered to possess structural integrity include the upstream gauging station, the cable tramway across the river from the gauging station to the trail, the trail along the Arizona side, the deteriorated but intact catwalk along the cliff, the trail south of the catwalk, the cable tramway across the side canyon on the Arizona side, the trail south of the catwalk to the residence site, and the stone retaining walls which mark the site of the residence and garage a few miles upstream from Willow Beach. The gauging station itself consists of a small, square, shed-roofed metal room hung on a vertical cliff about forty to fifty feet above the surface of the river. Access: The Willow Beach Gauging Station, its cable tramway, catwalk and trail approach are located in the steep-walled Black Canyon of the Colorado River downstream from Hoover Dam. The gauging station may be approached by boat and ladder from below, or by cable tramway to the platform above. Kayak, Canoe and Boat Rentals can be found here. Raft tours through Black Canyon can be found here. TIPS: Black Canyon is best explored by water.

Write a Review

No Ratings Yet

Flag as inappropriate ›