Description: The Hole in the Rock is located at the southern end of the Hole in the Rock Road. It is a narrow and steep crevice that provides access to the Colorado River. The crevice was discovered and used by the Mormons in 1879 in search of a passage to new settlement areas in the eastern part of the state. 
They worked for months to prepare the crevasse by widening the upper section with blasting powder and chiseling anchor points directly into the sandstone with hand chisels. On January 26, 1880, the expedition down to the river began with 250 people, 83 fully loaded covered wagons and over 1000 head of cattle. The wagons were secured with ropes, and teams of men and oxen were used to pull the wagons through the upper crevasse, which had a gradient of almost 45°. Further down, a wooden path had been laid along the smooth sandstone. The route over the Hole in the Rock was only used for one year before it was replaced by an easier route further north.