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Glen Canyon Dam A Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA story

Dams  / 
Water
  1. Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA
  2. Glen Canyon Dam
Description

Glen Canyon Dam near Page, Arizona, creates Lake Powell. The 710-foot-high dam was completed on September 13, 1963, about 9 years before the first clear Landsat 1 images were acquired. The dam also generates electricity. From 1980 to 2013, its average annual gross electricity generation was about 5 billion kwh. (kwh = kilawatt-hours, a measure of a power station’s electricity output.) Its electricity generation varies based on the amount of water that flows into the lake, which is influenced by precipitation.

In the Landsat series of images shown here, we begin with 1972 when the lake was still filling. In 1984, the lake was at one of its highest water levels.

Near the dam is the city of Page, Arizona, which began in 1957 as a housing camp for workers building the dam. Page is now a major resort area. Its 2017 population was 7,553.

At various marinas on the lake, tourists can rent houseboats and other recreational watercraft. Wahweap is the largest marina on Lake Powell. This marina needs to move based on the lake’s water level. Antelope Point is the newest marina on Lake Powell, established in 2004.

Antelope Island is in the center of these images. It looks a lot less like an island in the later low water level images. The National Park Service dug a channel on the island’s north end called Castle Rock Pass. Even though it begins to look more like a peninsula by the 2005 image, it is still called Antelope Island. The channel around the north side of the island is navigable when the lake’s water level is 3,620 feet or higher.

View Related Imagery & Stories

Location

Oct. 8, 1952, USGS aerial photo — Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona

Oct. 8, 1952, USGS aerial photo — Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona

Oct. 8, 1952, USGS aerial photo — Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona

Oct. 8, 1952, USGS aerial photo — Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona

Oct. 29, 1963, ARGON satellite — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona

Oct. 29, 1963, ARGON satellite — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona

Aug. 6, 1972, Landsat 1 (path/row 40/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona, USA

Aug. 6, 1972, Landsat 1 (path/row 40/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona, USA

July 4, 1984, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona, USA

July 4, 1984, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona, USA

June 27, 1993, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona, USA

June 27, 1993, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona, USA

June 25, 1998, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona, USA

June 25, 1998, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona, USA

Aug. 31, 2005, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona, USA

Aug. 31, 2005, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona, USA

Aug. 19, 2018, Landsat 8 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona

Aug. 19, 2018, Landsat 8 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona

July 10, 2021, Landsat 8 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona

July 10, 2021, Landsat 8 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona

June 8, 2015, Landsat 8 (path/row 37/34) — Close-up of Glen Canyon Dam, Antelope Island, and Page, Arizona, USA

June 8, 2015, Landsat 8 (path/row 37/34) — Close-up of Glen Canyon Dam, Antelope Island, and Page, Arizona, USA

Oct. 8, 1952, USGS aerial photo — Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona
Oct. 8, 1952, USGS aerial photo — Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona
Oct. 29, 1963, ARGON satellite — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona
Aug. 6, 1972, Landsat 1 (path/row 40/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona, USA
July 4, 1984, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona, USA
June 27, 1993, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona, USA
June 25, 1998, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona, USA
Aug. 31, 2005, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona, USA
Aug. 19, 2018, Landsat 8 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona
July 10, 2021, Landsat 8 (path/row 37/34) — Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona
June 8, 2015, Landsat 8 (path/row 37/34) — Close-up of Glen Canyon Dam, Antelope Island, and Page, Arizona, USA

Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA Additional Imagery & Stories

Bathtub Ring
Bathtub Ring

Comparing the 1984 (high water level) and 2005 (low water level) images, there is a pale outline along many parts of the lake. When the water level dr...

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San Juan River
San Juan River

Farther upstream, the San Juan River flows into the Colorado River. In these narrower upstream portions of the rivers, more exposed riverbed appears i...

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Water Levels
Water Levels

Drought combined with water withdrawals has caused a drop in the lake’s water level. The reservoir finished filling in 1980. The highest water level r...

Read More
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