Glen canyon dam is the key storage unit in a farreaching water development plan called the colorado river storage project. The rod incorporated the gcpa requirement that the secretary of the interior hereafter. Portions of glen canyon national recreation area, which have been submerged since building of glen canyon dam in 1963, are now being uncovered by natural drought in region. Glen canyon dam is a large dam on the colorado river. Advocates for decommissioning glen canyon dam and, so, draining lake powell are predicating their argument on a climatechange theory. Glen canyon dam is the second highest concretearch dam in the united states, second only to hoover dam which stands at 726 feet. This is an independent website for collaborative information sharing among glen canyon dam adaptive management program members and stakeholders. See more ideas about glen canyon dam, glen canyon and colorado river.
Although the views are fantastic from the visitors center, and walking across the bridge, the tour is well worth the time. Robert macfarlane on the monkey wrench gang rereading. In 1997 i conspired with brower to begin a campaign to drain lake powell. Glen canyon dam, with lake powell spreading out behind it. During the groups early years 19791986, earth first. Glen canyon tough decisions surround a colorado river. Glen canyon dam tonalea coconino county 2020 all you. An unplugged debate arizona department of water resources. In some ways things havent changed much since earth first. The first eis on the operation of glen canyon dam was published in 1995 reclamation 1995. Cultural history human inhabitants of grand canyon have included sophisticated. The us bureau of reclamation, who are responsible for the dam, are involved in a project to try to secure a large slab of rock on a near vertical face.
The glen canyon dam in arizona is a concrete arch dam on the colorado river in arizona, usa. Drought unearths a buried treasure the new york times. A small part of the lower end of glen canyon extends into the northern part of arizona and terminates at lees ferry, arizona, near. In northern arizona, ups and downs in the land of canyons. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
A new plan to release regular, intentional floods to resupply sediment and restore species habitat aims to reverse the damage done to the grand canyons natural systems over the last 50 years. The sierra clubs first executive director, david brower, considered the dams construction a personal failure and. The birth of the radical environmental movement is captured in this short, poetic film on the legendary direct action at glen canyon dam in march of 1981. The reservoir can store 27 million acrefeet of water which is the amount of water that can cover one acre to 1 foot deep. The dam is 583 feet high and it is 1,560 feet wide. Glen canyon dam is the second largest dam on the colorado river, situated in page, arizona. Glen canyon tough decisions surround a colorado river flashpoint. The animal liberation front alf is the nations most active extreme animal rights movement. Many opportunities remain available to enjoy the park, including hiking opportunities, shoreline fishing, beach access, human powered water recreation, and recreation on the colorado river corridor. Glen canyon starts where narrow canyon ends at the confluence of the colorado river and the dirty devil river. Glen canyon dam is a large hydropower facility on the colorado river in arizona just upstream from the grand canyon. It is 300 feet thick at the base and holds back some 9 trillion gallons of water. This facility was designed and operated historically to produce power primarily during onpeak periods when it is most valuable.
The dam provides both hydroelectric power and flow regulation. The canyon shaped by the colorado river over the last six million years, grand canyon stretches 277 miles, is a mile deep and up to 18 miles wide. Its quite a feeling to be at the bottom of the dam knowing that it is the only. The cracking of glen canyon damn with edward abbey and. Glen canyon dam overlook page 2020 all you need to. October 2, 2011, we took a tour of glen canyon dam. Join us this week on our podcast, we are rivers as we discuss the issues, opinions, and concerns surrounding glen canyon dam, lake powell, and the concept of fill mead first in episode 5. It is a natural human impulse to want to tie up loose ends in the twilight of life, to get ones affairs in order, to repair emotional. It was built with the primary purpose of generating electrical power, securing water supply for the dry southwestern portion of the united states, and.
Ken sanders, a spokesman for earth first, a radical preservationist group, said the lakes anniversary was a somber occasion that resurrects memories of glen canyon, a redrock wonder buried. Federal, arizona, and utah laws to follow in glen canyon national recreation area. I took the tour of the glen canyon dam and was amazed at the history behind building the dam and the work involved. Completed in 1963, lake powell only reached its full level 17 years later in 1980. The cracking of glen canyon damn with edward abbey and earth first. So, rather than operate two enormous waterretention dams holding back lakes doomed by a changing climate never again to rise beyond. They believe the american southwest is strangled by a drought that is never going to relent. A river runs through them arizona department of water. Stayed 2 nights at a campground in glen canyon national recreationa area. Glen canyon national recreation area is open with continued access to the majority of the 1. Glen canyon dam is a concrete archgravity dam on the colorado river in northern arizona, united states, near the town of page. It turned out that poor concrete construction had caused the walls of the underground tunnels to suffer cavitation during the first and only time that any water had ever been dumped through them.
The purpose of the dam is to create electricity and to prevent floods. Historic opposition to glen canyon dam living rivers. Stay current on glen canyons efforts to stop the spread of quagga mussels and other invasive species. Glen canyon dam is a concrete arch dam on the colorado river in northern arizona in the united states, near the town of page. Book your tickets online for glen canyon dam, tonalea coconino county. In 1996, the movement to drain lake powell began to gather momentum when the national board of the sierra club, under david bowers urging, adopted the position that lake powell should be drained.
Bureau of reclamation usbr from 1956 to 1966 and forms lake powell, one of the largest manmade reservoirs in the u. In the spring of 1981, three berkeley gradstudents from making a film about the impacts of energy about living in the south west, when the author, edward abbey, suggested they meet him at the glen canyon dam film makers toby mcleod, randy heys and glen switckeis captured the dramatic birth of the radical environmental birth earth first. The push to decommission glen canyon dam that is, to open up the enormous dam permanently and drain lake powell has been spiking of late, a function of longstanding antidam passions fueled by the ongoing southwestern drought. Glen canyon has been the focal point of recreation and controversy in southern utah and northern arizona for many years. The dam was built to provide hydroelectricity and flow regulation from. Frothing river winds past solitary mesas and ancestral puebloan buildings carving out dramatic rock formations in canyonlands national park before blustering on down around picturesque bluffs towards moab. Forbidden canyon in glen canyon, by philip hyde, via glen canyon institue. Some theorize that filling only lake mead, further down the river, would be a more efficient way to store water. Glen canyon dam in arizona an interesting rockfall. This dam is only 16 feet lower than hoover dam who h gets all the attention. There is also a scenic lookout close to page and that is definitely worth a stop. Since the completion of the glen canyon dam in 1963, the once warm and muddy colorado river has run clear and cold, with a drastically altered ecosystem. Recently, a conservative idaho republican congressman suggested he would seriously consider removing four dams on the lower snake river. Glen canyon dam, says udall now, was a tragic mistake.
The 1996 record of decision rod reclamation 1996 selected the modified low fluctuating flow alternative as the preferred means of operating glen canyon dam. Fifteen miles upstream from lees ferry, glen canyon dam halts the colorado river. It rises 710 feet above the colorado river bedrock with a 1,560 foot long crest. Earth first protesters shouted crack the dam and free the river today as interior secretary james watt set out for a birthday party for the nations secondlargest. Releasing a flood of controversy on the colorado river. Glen canyon dam is a dam in arizona and has an elevation of 3589 feet. Composed of anonymous underground cells that oppose any form of animal experimentation and perceived mistreatment, it aims to rescue animals from places of abuse and to inflict economic damage to those who profit from the misery and. Feds give 20 more years to glen canyon dam on colorado. Glen canyon is a natural canyon mostly in southeastern and southcentral utah covering a 169. Protests remain a cornerstone of the movement and the group. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading coyotes and town dogs. The last days of glen canyon dam adamwerbach medium. Why maintain two big, halffull dams when the one downstream hoover dam. It was declared a national park in 1919 and a world heritage site in 1979.
Edward abbey glen canyon dam 1 translations dotsub. The film the cracking of glen canyon damn with edward abbey and earth first. Breach it and they will come meateater conservation. On march 21, 1981, with abbey in attendance, it gathered several people at the glen canyon dam in arizona and unrolled a huge black plastic strip down the dams face, simulating a. When the dam was completed and lake powell was formed in 1963, the irregular flows of the colorado river were brought under control. One of their most highprofile early actions, on 21 march 1981, involved the unfurling of a vinyl banner down the glen canyon dam, designed to look like a crack. In early june 1983, the entire huge glen canyon dam began to violently shake.
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