Skip to main content
Home

Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center

Main Menu

  • EROS Home
  • Image Gallery
  • Video Library
  • Earthshots
  • Remote Sensing Classroom

Earthshots

  • Earthshots
    • Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA
      • Water Levels
      • Glen Canyon Dam
      • Bathtub Ring
      • San Juan River
  • Download Cards
  • More Information
  • Contact Information
Earthshots Logo

Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA

Dams  / 
Water
  1. Earthshots
  2. Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA
Description

Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River was completed in 1963. It created Lake Powell, which ebbs and flows depending on upstream precipitation. Lately, it’s been more ebb.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area encompasses Lake Powell and is visited by more than 2 million people per year.

Since 2000, the Colorado River Basin has been in an extended drought. During the period 2000–2018, the inflow of water into Lake Powell was above average in only 4 years. As a result, Lake Powell was at less than half capacity in January 2019.

Droughts combined with a rising population means water sustainability will only become more of a challenge. In addition, hydropower capacity at Glen Canyon Dam could be reduced. Severe droughts are a regular part of the climate variability in this region; however, droughts are expected to become more severe in the future.

This study is just one example of researchers finding that extreme, prolonged droughts are expected in the U.S. Southwest throughout this century.

View Related Imagery & Stories

Location

Oct. 29, 1963, ARGON satellite — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA

Oct. 29, 1963, ARGON satellite — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA

July 4, 1984, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA

July 4, 1984, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA

June 27, 1993, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA

June 27, 1993, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA

June 25, 1998, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA

June 25, 1998, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA

Aug. 31, 2005, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA

Aug. 31, 2005, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA

Aug. 19, 2018, Landsat 8 (path/row 37/34) — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA

Aug. 19, 2018, Landsat 8 (path/row 37/34) — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA

Oct. 29, 1963, ARGON satellite — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA
July 4, 1984, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA
June 27, 1993, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA
June 25, 1998, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA
Aug. 31, 2005, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/34) — Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona, USA
Aug. 19, 2018, Landsat 8 (path/row 37/34) — Lake Powell, Utah and 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...

Read More
Glen Canyon Dam
Glen Canyon Dam

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 cle...

Read More
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...

Read More
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

References

References (Earthshot Overview/Parent Only)

Antelope Point Marina, 2017, Antelope Point Marina: Riverlakes Host, accessed February 6, 2019, at http://www.riverlakes.com/antelope_point_marina.htm.

Antelope Point Marina, [n.d.], Antelope Point Marina on Lake Powell: Antelope Point Marina Web page, accessed February 10, 2016, at http://www.lakepowellhouseboating.com/.

Ault, T.R., Cole, J.E., Overpeck, J.T., Pederson, G.T., and Meko, D.M., 2014, Assessing the Risk of Persistent Drought Using Climate Model Simulations and Paleoclimate Data: Journal of Climate, v. 27, no. 20, p. 7529–7549, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00282.1.

Brophy, A., 2015, The Ebb and Flow of Lake Powell: Good4Utah.com, accessed February 6, 2019, at http://www.good4utah.com/news/local-utah-state-news-/the-ebb-and-flow-of-lake-powell.

City of Page, Arizona, 2015, City of Page, Arizona: Page, Arizona, Web page, accessed February 6, 2019, at http://www.cityofpage.org/about-page/city-of-page-arizona.

City of Page, Arizona, 2015, City of Page History: Page, Arizona, Web page, accessed February 6, 2019, at http://www.cityofpage.org/about-page/city-of-page-history.

Lake Powell Resorts & Marinas, 2019, Marina Information: Lake Powell Web page, accessed February 6, 2019, at http://www.lakepowell.com/discover/marina-information/.

Loomis, B., 2013, 50 years later, Glen Canyon Dam still controversial: USA Today, accessed February 10, 2016, at http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/14/glen-canyon-dam-50-years/2981273/.

NASA, 2017, Water Level in Lake Powell: NASA Earth Observatory World of Change, accessed February 6, 2019, at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/lake_powell.php.

Travel2Arizona, 2019, Antelope Island: Travel2Arizona.com, accessed February 6, 2019, at http://www.travel2arizona.com/antelope-island-336.html.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 2017, Glen Canyon Dam Quick Facts: USBR, accessed February 6, 2019, at https://www.usbr.gov/uc/rm/crsp/gc/gcFacts.html.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 2018, Glen Canyon Unit: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, accessed February 6, 2019, at http://www.usbr.gov/uc/rm/crsp/gc/.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 2019, Upper Colorado Region—Glen Canyon Dam: USBR, accessed February 6, 2019, at https://www.usbr.gov/uc/water/crsp/cs/gcd.html.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 2019, Upper Colorado Region—Water Operations: USBR, accessed February 5, 2019, at https://www.usbr.gov/rsvrWater/HistoricalApp.html.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 2018, Upper Colorado Region, USBR Water Operations page, accessed February 6, 2019, at https://www.usbr.gov/uc/water.

U.S. Census Bureau, [n.d.], QuickFacts—Page city, Arizona: accessed February 5, 2019, at https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/pagecityarizona/PST045218.

U.S. Department of the Interior, [n.d.], Drought in the Colorado River Basin—Insights Using Open Data: U.S. DOI, accessed February 6, 2019, at https://www.doi.gov/water/owdi.cr.drought/en/index.html.

U.S. Department of the Interior, 2015, Glen Canyon Dam—Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan Environmental Impact Statement: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Region National Park Service, Intermountain Region, accessed February 6, 2019, at http://ltempeis.anl.gov/documents/draft-eis/.

U.S. Geological Survey, 2018, Power Production: Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, accessed February 6, 2019, at http://www.gcmrc.gov/research_areas/power_production/power_production_default.aspx.

U.S. National Park Service, 2018, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Frequently Asked Questions: NPS, accessed February 6, 2019, at http://www.nps.gov/glca/faqs.htm.

Waterman, Jonathan, 2014, Record Drought Reveals Stunning Changes Along Colorado River: National Geographic, accessed February 6, 2019, at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/11/141123-lake-powell-colorado-river-drought-water/.

  • DOI Privacy Policy
  • Legal
  • Accessibility
  • Site Map
  • Contact USGS

  • U.S. Department of the Interior
  • DOI Inspector General
  • White House
  • E-gov
  • No Fear Act
  • FOIA