Glen Canyon Dam
- Lake Powell,
Arizona
On October 15,
1956, the first blast occurred and the construction of Glen
Canyon Dam was officially
underway. Before that date, the site was virtually
inaccessible and construction crews were forced to drive 200
miles to cross from one side of the Glen Canyon to the
other.
Glen Canyon Dam
was engineered and constructed as part of the Colorado River
Storage Project. The main purpose of the dam was to provide
water storage for the thirsty southwest, and secondly, to
generate power for growing communities. Colorado River
reservoirs provide irrigation waters for an estimated 25% of
the nation's food.
The remote
location where Glen Canyon Dam stands today was selected by
a group of Bureau of Reclamation engineers and geologists
working from 1946 to 1948, some of whom returned to visit
Lake Powell in later years. The site met several criteria:
the area forming the basin would contain an immense amount
of water; the canyon walls and bedrock foundation were
strong and stable enough to safely support the high dam; and
a large source of good rock and sand was available at nearby
Wahweap Creek.
Glen Canyon
Bridge was actually constructed in California, disassembled
and half of the bridge was transported to each side of the
canyon. By 1959, Glen Canyon Bridge was completed permitting
trucks to deliver equipment and materials for the dam and
the new town of Page, Arizona.
The next year
concrete placement began and continued night and day until
the final bucket was dumped three years later. A bucket held
24 tons of damp concrete and it took over 400,000 of them to
build the dam. Over five million cubic yards of concrete
make up the dam and power plant—which is equal to building a
four-lane highway stretching from Phoenix, Arizona to
Chicago, Illinois. Construction began on the 710-foot-tall
dam with blocks of concrete 7.5 feet high.
Next, turbines
and generators were installed from 1963 to 1966. In the end,
17 workers met their death during the 10 years of
construction.
Glen Canyon Dam
was dedicated by Ladybird Johnson on September 22, 1966. It
took 17 years for Lake Powell to completely fill for the
first time. At full pool—3700 feet above sea level—the lake
would be 560 feet deep at the face of the dam.
The plant
generates more than 1.3 million kilowatts of electricity
with each of the generators 40-ton steel shafts turning at
150 rpm, generating nearly 200,000 horsepower. With all
eight generators operating at full output, over 15 million
gallons of water pass through the power plant's penstocks
each minute. The electricity is up graded on a transformer
deck from 13,800 volts to 230,000 and 345,000 volts for
transmission to distant markets.
Power from Glen
Canyon Dam serves a five-state grid of Wyoming, Colorado,
Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. The electricity produced can
provide enough energy to serve the needs of approximately
1.5 million users. The dam will be usable for an estimated
300 to 500 years and has already generated $1.5 billion in
revenues.
Families are
encouraged to participate in one of the many free tours
offered daily. Knowledgeable guides take groups of 25 on a
one-hour tour of the concrete monolith during regular
visitor hours at the Carl Hayden Visitor Center overlooking
the dam. No bags of any kind are permitted. To reserve a
tour, you must visit the tour reservation desk at the
visitor center. You will also enjoy the ranger programs,
historic displays, slide shows and Glen Canyon Natural
History Association bookstore and information center on the
premises.
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