Water in the West-Glen Canyon Dam/Lake Powell/Horseshoe Bend

We stayed the night of June 15 at the Wahweap Campgorund, downstream of Glen Canyon Dam. Our camp was right next to the Dam’s reservoir- Lake Powell-which holds 24.3 million acre feet of water.

Lake Powell.

Photo Credit: Erin Maguire

It felt so good to swim in the reservoir which felt like a natural lake and looked like a lake (it was complete with houseboats on it). The night at Lake Powell the sunset and the moon rose orange at the same time- it was a beautiful sight to behold.

Sunset at Glen Canyon Recreation Area.

Photo Credit: Erin Maguire

The next morning we did not know if it was Mountain or Pacific Time (half of the recreation area is in Utah and the other half in Arizona) so we showed up one hour early for our tour of the Glen Canyon Dam. They had a very extensive visitor center so we kept ourselves busy. 

Rachel became a junior ranger while we waited for our tour!

Photo Credit: Erin Maguire

The official sign.

Photo Credit: Erin Maguire

Our tour guide was Curtis and he was very enthusiastic. The Dam was built by the Bureau of Reclamation part of the Department of Interior. It took 400,000 buckets to complete the project in September 1963; that is enough concrete to make a four lane highway from Phoenix, Arizona to Chicago, Illinois. One can see 583 feet of the dam but it is truly 720 feet tall.

View from the top of the dam.

Photo Credit: Erin Maguire

Glen Canyon Dam has eight generators that produce electrical current at 13,800 volts each aka 1.3 million kilowatts of power. Hydropower is 85% efficient compared to coal that is 50% efficient.

Turbines of the dam.

Photo Credit: Erin Maguire

While at the dam we also had a ranger talk, her name was Katie. She brought to our attention about hidden water in the cloths we buy and food we eat.

In food: one hamburger- 708 gallons

Pair of jeans: 100 gallons

In electricity- one hour of watching TV is 10 gallons

 So how many jeans do you have in your closet?

Contemplating life at the Bend.

Photo Credit: Kristen Meidt

After our tour and discussions at dam, we headed to good old Wal-Mart to stock up on food for our trek down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Then we went for lunch at Horseshoe Bend, a lovely geological feature carved out of the canyon rock by the Colorado River located in Page, Arizona.

Horseshoe Bend.

Photo Credit: Erin Maguire


Diagram of a dam that produces hydropower.