John Wesley Powell: The one-armed explorer

John Wesley Powell began exploring the American West as a young man

While much of the US was being rapidly settled in the 19th Century, large parts of the West remained unknown. Determined to change that, one man led an expedition along the "impassable" Colorado River and into the unexplored Grand Canyon, writes historian Dan Snow, who followed in his footsteps for the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25491932

Also on VOA News, an audio with transcript

John Wesley Powell, 1834-1902: Famous Explorer of the American West

On NPR : http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2003/aug/water/part1.html