Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
 Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell
Throughout history humans have adapted their surroundings to better suit their needs. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, established in
1972, provides a dramatic example of one of nature’s most inspiring settings combined with an ambitious human project. Impounded behind the
Bureau of Reclamation’s Glen Canyon Dam, waters of the Colorado River and tributaries are backed up about 185 miles, forming Lake Powell. The
lake and more than one million acres of desert-and-canyon country offer leisure-time activities for American and international visitors. Fishing
and water sports are dominant activities. Exploring on foot can provide intimate contact with the natural and cultural features preserved here
for the enjoyment of present and future generations. Prehistoric human inhabitants occupied the area and left behind scattered indications
of their presence.
Early Spanish explorers searching for an overland route to California left us a detailed account of their expedition. Explorer Maj. John
Wesley Powell also chronicled the first expedition down the Colorado River. Powell named this stretch of the river Glen Canyon. Not long after
his voyage, permanent settlements were established at the easiest and most reliable river crossings. An early writer about water issues and
limits in this arid country, Powell was eventually honored by having the lake named for him. Born amid controversy and compromise, the dam
fulfills its goal of water storage and power generation, and it provides major recreational opportunities. The resulting lake enables many people
to view natural marvels and cultural features. Construction of the concrete arch dam began in 1956, and the final two generating units began
providing power in 1966. The lake reached full pool level in 1980, 1983, and 1984. In 1984 excess floodwater went over the spillways and through
the diversion tunnels on each side of the dam. Lake Powell’s presence in a desert landscape has modified the species of plants and animals that
now inhabit Glen Canyon. Today, Lake Powell is one of the Southwest’s finest lake recreation areas.
"A Curious ensemble of wonderful features…" John Wesley Powell, 1869
In small groups people dispersed throughout North and South America and lived in isolation for thousands of years. Tribes in this area, which
we call the Desert Archaic people, were hunters and gatherers. Their continuing subsistence needs left little chance for development of higher
cultural skills or for population growth. About 2,000 years ago a major cultural change – from causes about which we can only speculate –
transformed these nomads into more stationary farmers, now called Basketmakers. Their weaving materials included cotton that was introduced to
them by groups from the south. As they incorporated ideas from southern cultures, including above-ground houses, these Basketmaker people evolved
into the culture we call Ancestral Puebloans, or Anasazi.
 Explorers
In 1776 two Spanish priests began an expedition that provided the first written record of Glen Canyon. Explorers Father Dominguez, Father
Escalante, and their party set out from Sante Fe in July to pioneer an overland route to a military garrison on the California coast. After three
months, having bypassed the canyon country, the party reached the Great Basin in Utah, where they decided to turn back before the onset of
winter. On October 26, the party reached the Colorado River at the mouth of the Paria River. When crossing there proved nearly disastrous, the
explorers climbed out of the river bottom and camped near today’s Wahweap Marina. They spent four days searching for a way across the river.
Finally, on November 7, they chopped steps into the sandstone wall at Padre Creek and safely led their pack stock to the banks of the Colorado.
The Crossing of the Fathers today lies beneath Padre Bay.
Another journey of discovery began nearly 100 years after the Dominguez-Escalante expedition. Geologist John Wesley Powell set out to map the
region and record its natural history. After a five-year study Powell was convinced that with careful planning the area could be settled , and
his reports became the basis for reclamation in the West. In May 1869, Powell and his crew of nine men left Green River, Wyoming to follow the
fabled Colorado. On July 28, they entered Glen Canyon and found its waters calm compared to the rapids of Cataract Canyon. Their trip eventually
took them through the Grand Canyon and to the mouth of the Virgin River in Nevada.
Railroaders with visions of a line from Grand Junction, Colorado to the Gulf of California explored farther along the Colorado River. They
declared the route feasible and said trains could be powered by electricity generated from the flow of the river; their bankers disagreed.
Prospectors searched the area for riches. They discovered gold in the river’s sands, but it was too fine to be mined commercially. Next came the
pioneers, passing through in search of better lands. With them came the ferrymen, who were indispensable to that effort.
 Mormon Pioneers
Although the Colorado River is accessible near the mouth of the Paria, as Dominguez and Escalante discovered it cannot be crossed easily. The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) sent John D. Lee there to build and operated a ferry. He built the Lonely Dell Ranch
for Emma Lee, his 17th wife. By 1873 Lee had built a ferryboat named the Colorado. Lee was executed in 1877 for his part in the
1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre, the attack by Mormons and Paiutes on California-bound settlers. The Mormon Church eventually bought the
enterprise from Emma. The ferry ran continuously until 1928. It was replaced by the Navajo Bridge, completed across Marble Canyon in 1929. Mormon
pioneers colonizing the San Juan Valley created a river crossing at Hole-in-the-Rock, below the confluence of the Colorado and Escalante rivers.
These pioneers blasted and fabricated a road 0.75 mile long that descended nearly 1,000 feet. Charles Hall later found a better crossing about 35
miles upstream. He ferried travelers at Halls Crossing until Cass Hite developed a more accessible crossing. The ferry and the town of Hite were
active until flooded by the waters of Lake Powell.
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