Aquarius National Forest was established as the Aquarius Forest Reserve by the United States General Land Office in Utah on October 24, 1903, with 639000acres. In 1905 federal forest lands were transferred to the U.S. Forest Service. On March 4, 1907, it became a National Forest, and on July 1, 1908, it was renamed Powell National Forest. The lands are presently included in Dixie National Forest. The forest included the Aquarius Plateau to the southeast of Capitol Reef National Park.