The Virgin River is a tributary of the Colorado River in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. It was designated Utah's first wild and scenic river in 2009. The first known Euro-American party to encounter the Virgin was led by Jedediah Smith in 1826. Smith named it Adams River, after then-president John Quincy Adams.
Virgin River follows Melinda "Mel" Monroe, who answers an ad to work as a midwife and nurse practitioner in the remote Northern California town of Virgin River.