Glen Canyon Dam, on the Colorado River, northeast of the Grand Canyon,  is the fourth-highest dam in the U.S. Glen Canyon Dam was built between 1956 and 1966.

On October 15, 1956, an enormous blast echoed down a remote stretch of the Colorado River in Arizona. Construction had begun on a controversial dam at Glen Canyon, 50 miles northeast of the Grand Canyon. Three years later, workers had completed only the first step of the project: a 1,271-foot-long steel bridge that arched across Glen Canyon. The bridge allowed materials and equipment to be trucked to the dam site. The next year, workers began pouring concrete for the dam. The pouring continued, night and day, for three years: 9.6 million tons of concrete were needed to build the dam.

Lady Bird Johnson, the First Lady, dedicated the 708-foot-tall dam in 1966, 10 years after construction began.

Behind it, the Colorado River had backed up to fill the 100-mile-long canyon, creating Lake Powell, the nation's second-largest reservoir. Glen Canyon Dam is considered a great engineering feat. Its turbines generate electricity for 200,000 homes, and Lake Powell provides irrigation for much of the Southwest. But many people regard the dam as a tragedy, because the spectacular canyon was lost forever. The dam was so bitterly protested that few giant hydroelectric projects have been approved since then. Today, federal policy focuses on conserving electricity and water rather than building dams to generate power and irrigate land.

Las Vegas guide
hotels, airfares, tours, shows, weddings

v  Tours
v  Shows
v  Wedding & Limo
v  Golf
v  Hotels
v  Vacation packages
v  Restaurants
v  Tips from Vegas locals
v  Nightlife
v  Wrestling Tickets
v  National Final Rodeo
v  Nascar
v  Vegas for Kids
v  Pools
v  Spas
v  Attractions
v  Buffets
v  Bars and Lounges