| It is interesting to note that whitewater rafting was | | | | turn of the century that the first ever commercial |
| one of the earliest forms of transportation. It was | | | | whitewater trip was undertaken. At first, surplus |
| not only used for carrying people but also for | | | | military rafts were used as boats and it was only |
| transferring goods from one place to another. | | | | much later that inflatable rafts were used. |
| However, it became quite popular as a form of | | | | Private companies played a major role in augmenting |
| leisure activity in the 1980s. | | | | the rafting business. In 1956, one of the members of |
| In 1811, the first recorded attempt to navigate the | | | | the most affluent business families of America, John |
| Snake River in Wyoming was planned by the | | | | D. Rockefeller built a resort that introduced one of |
| Overland Astorians. While attempting to boat the | | | | the first floating trips in the country. However, it only |
| stretch below Jackson Hole, the river was found to | | | | evoked a lukewarm response. Later, in the 1960s and |
| be too treacherous and it came to be called ?Mad | | | | 1970s, exclusive whitewater rafting companies were |
| River.? | | | | formed. These include the Becker-Cooke Expeditions, |
| The rubber river raft is believed to have been | | | | Hatch River Expeditions and Slickrock Adventures. |
| invented in the early 1840s. It was first made by Lt. | | | | Rafting was first included in the Munich Olympic |
| John Fremont, who was then serving in the U.S army | | | | Games, 1972. Subsequently, it was included in the |
| and Horace H. Day. They invented the rubber raft | | | | 1992 Barcelona Games and the 1996 Atlanta Games. |
| with the intention of surveying the Rocky Mountains | | | | In 1996, the Ocoee River in Tennessee Valley played |
| and the Great Plains. Although the raft was invented | | | | host to the whitewater events of the Summer |
| in the mid-nineteenth century, it was not until the | | | | Olympic Games. |