Glen Canyon Dam

By Laurie

Note: This post is one of a series about my 2015 Western Parks vacation with my daughter and grandson.  For our itinerary with links to other posts and an overview of this trip, please see 2015 Western Parks Vacation.

Our first activity after we reached Page, AZ was to visit the Glen Canyon Dam.

Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete dam on the Colorado River near Page, Arizona. At 710 feet high, the Glen Canyon Dam is the second highest concrete-arch dam in the United States, second only to Hoover Dam (which is 726 feet high). The dam is 1,560 feet long at the crest. Completed in 1966, the dam and Lake Powell provide water and power to the southwest states. Power is generated through eight generators located at the base of the dam. It is the second-biggest producer of hydroelectric power in the Southwestern United States, after Hoover Dam.

The reservoir formed by the dam is Lake Powell, which is mostly in Utah. It is the second largest man-made reservoir (by maximum water capacity) in the United States behind Lake Mead, above Hoover Dam. Lake Powell’s water levels fluctuate greatly, depending on water demand and annual runoff into the lake. Operation of the Glen Canyon Dam helps control the distribution of water between the states of the Upper Colorado River Basin (Colorado, Wyoming, and most of New Mexico and Utah) and the Lower Basin (California, Nevada and most of Arizona). When the lake is full, it is 560 feet deep at the dam.

Our visit included a tour of the dam and power plant. There were several displays on the top of the dam related to the dam’s power generation, including a turbine impeller which had been used to turn a generator, and a penstock valve used to control the flow of water into a turbine. The Carl B. Hayden Visitor Center is located 700 feet above the Colorado River overlooking Glen Canyon Dam and Bridge but we didn’t visit it. 

An unusual feature of the Glen Canyon Dam is a 2 acre Kentucky bluegrass lawn covering the crescent between the dam and power plant. Originally, the steel penstocks feeding water to the power plant were exposed, but they experienced severe vibration when in use so they were buried to act as a buffer against the potentially damaging vibrations. Later, the grass was planted to prevent the dirt from being blown away, but it also provides a mild cooling effect through evapotranspiration, reducing temperatures inside the power plant.

The Glen Canyon Bridge  is a steel arch bridge spanning the Colorado River just downstream of the dam. It is 1,271 feet long and carries US Rt. 89 over the river.

Additional Information

Wikipedia – Glen Canyon Dam
Wikipedia – Lake Powell

Additional Images

Technical Information