Glen Canyon Dam is located in Arizona, and is known for keeping Lake Powell filled.

Glen Canyon Dam, with Lake Powell behind it – courtesy of Water Education Foundation

Map of Lake Powell, Glen Canyon Dam, etc. – courtesy of Bureau of Reclamation

1. In the beginning, there was no Glen Canyon Dam …
2. What about the dam? It’s about dam time!
3. Dam, Plants, Animals, Dants, Damimals … Gibberish, Folks
4. Dam, Is The Page Over Already?

In the beginning, there was no Glen Canyon Dam …

In line with other landmarks of the U.S.A., the lands and waters of, near, and connected to Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell, and more in the Colorado River Basin belonged to a host of Native American tribes.

The Colorado-San Juan river confluence was a place where spiritual offerings were made. Adair Klopfenstein of the Navajo (Dine) says of the tribe’s perspective, “We consider the San Juan River male and the Colorado female. Where those two met, it’s kind of like they mated”. Offerings were left for moisture and rain clouds.

Satellite image of the San Juan spilling into the Colorado – courtesy of ResearchGate

The Colorado River Basin was the home of 30 different indigenous tribes in 1922; all of them were denied water rights by the 1922 Colorado River compact, which split the river between the states of Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and California (Mexico later made claim to a segment of the river). Complicating matters, the federal government was directly involved in construction of pipes, dams, and reservoirs using the Colorado river’s water … in non-indigenous-owned lands. Native Americans themselves were never certain as to what water they could use. The situation was aggravated by the new water distribution’s clash with pre-colonial water usage. Tribes were rarely sedentary along the Colorado, preferring to move with it, and adapt and respond to it; this, plus other ways of life, were ripped away from them by Europeans and their descendants. In many cases, tribes which had called the banks of the Colorado home were forcibly moved away from it, negating adaptation to alien lifestyles.

1922 Colorado River compact states (Mexico later a claimant) – courtesy of Penn State

In the modern day, Glen Canyon Dam and other white-made and/or white-initiated projects of the Colorado basin interfere with tribal affairs. Tribes consider (not unjustifiably) the dam a desecrater of the canyon, and loath its flooding of sacred sites such as ancient burial grounds.

There are spots which escaped the flooding damage; a stunning example is the 290 foot tall, 275 foot wide Rainbow Bridge. The sandstone arch is traditionally considered a rainbow turned to rock.

Rainbow Bridge – courtesy of National Park Service

The similarity to the bridge needn’t be more obvious – courtesy of Time and Date

Klopfenstein remarks, “In the same way that [Navajo (Dine)] respect and use rainbows in our prayers and songs, “that rainbow we respect, so we don’t pass under it”. Indeed, out of respect for indigenous beliefs and customs, tourists are prohibited from walking beneath the arch.

What about the dam? It’s about dam time!

The 1922 Colorado River Compact ordered a dam built to regulate water flow in the basin. In 1928, it was decided to build Boulder (later Hoover) Dam, which stalled plans for a dam near Lees Ferry, but the dam remained in limbo instead of being scrapped altogether.

In 1949, the Bureau of Reclamation proposed dams for the Colorado River basin, but conservationists opposed these projects due to what would’ve been their interference with Echo Park in Dinosaur National Monument.

Dinosaur National Monument, Utah-Colorado border – courtesy of Sierra Club

In the end, the Bureau of Reclamation won, and in 1956 construction of a dam at Glen Canyon Dam was underway. Into 1963, year of the project’s completion, river traffic to the area increased since the public was curious about the lands soon to vanish beneath a reservoir. Archaeological surveys recorded facts and observations about historic relics (some of which were saved before the floods), and noted the positions of places such as the Music Temple and Cathedral in the Desert after Lake Powell was born.

Music Temple of Glen Canyon – courtesy of Amon Carter Museum of American Art

Cathedral in the Desert – courtesy of Atlas Obscura

Despite their failure to quash Glen Canyon Dam, environmental advocates have traditionally refocused on other proposed projects further upstream or downstream, and even in recent years have suggested decommissioning the dam by breaching. The descent of Lake Powell means old artifacts, landmarks, and natural features have resurfaced at last.

Satellite image of Lake Powell before and after drought – courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory

Dam, Plants, Animals, Dants, Damimals … Gibberish, Folks

In the Glen Canyon area, the U.S. National Park Service lists three plant categories: Hanging Gardens, Vascular Plants, and Rare Plants.

Hanging Gardens are spring-fed plant colonies clinging to cliffs’ vertical walls, often in alcoves or “glens” where it is cooler and moister than the rest of the desert landscape. The springs are rooted in local aquifers, which in turn are supplied with water from the winter season; the water seeps through cracks in rock (usually the Navajo Sandstone for the Glen Canyon area) and reaches less permeable rock (such as the Kayenta Formation). There, due to being blocked from a vertical trajectory, the water seeps horizontally. If it continues along a canyon wall, it seeps out of the stone and flows down the cliffsides. Plants such as Helleborine orchid and Maidenhair fern grow in the Hanging Gardens.

Hanging Garden in Arizona – courtesy of Arizona Journey

Rock layer diagram of Zion National Park; applies to Glen Canyon area as well – courtesy of National Park Service

Helleborine orchid – courtesy of In Defense of Plants

Maidenhair fern – courtesy of White Flower Farm

Vascular Plants have vein systems within them that conduct water and nutrient fluids throughout. Nonvascular plants, by contrast, absorb water through membranes instead of roots (though vascular-like structures exist in a few mosses and liverworts). 856 species are confirmed totally vascular, while 900 to 920 are probable, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Over 90 plant families are in this area, with the five largest families filling over half the total number there.

Additionally, Vascular Plants of GCNRA are divided into more types than listed above. Herbaceous plants, or herbs, are soft rather than woody (and the most widely found plants in GCNRA). Shrubs (perennial woody plants) fill a smaller, but still significant, niche in the same lands. Succulent shrubs and trees occupy a tiny role, while large cacti like Saguaro are nonexistent no thanks to the area’s coldness.

What’s more, the plants are categorized as perennial and annual. Perennials (shrubs especially) are extensively rooted to absorb water and survive dry years. Gaps between the shrubs are habitats for annuals to grow rapidly and complete their short life cycles during short wet seasons. Above-ground perennials such as the rose heath and western aster die at the end of the season, and the following year’s growth springs out of rootstock that survives droughts by being underground.

Rose heath, a perennial – courtesy of iNaturalist

Western aster, a perennial – courtesy of Las Pilitas Nursery

Annuals are common in arid regions where temperature varies wildly and precipitation is both low and inconsistently delivered. Seeds survive harsh seasons through dormancy until a wet season sets the stage for germination.

Dusty maiden, an annual – courtesy of Southwest Colorado Wildflowers

Skyrocket, an annual – courtesy of The American Southwest

Concerning Rare Plants, the Colorado Plateau, where Glen Canyon Dam is located, has the largest concentration of endemic plants in the U.S., majorly propelled into existence thanks (or no thanks) to the plateau’s scarce water demanding adaptation or death. The isolation from other plant species, against the odds, can create an environment where new species are made – again, no choice but to adapt to survive. The Glen Canyon area alone is the abode of 40 endemic plateau plant species, half of which are rare in Utah and Arizona.

Evening primrose; the Atwood type (rare) is found at GCNRA – courtesy of Arkansas Valley Seed

Goldeneye; the tropical type (rare) is found at GCNRA – courtesy of USDA Forest Service

Animals at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area encompass Ring-necked Snakes, Violet-green Swallows, Botta’s Pocket Gophers, Milky Slugs, and more.

Ring-necked Snake – courtesy of The Watershed Project

Violet-green Swallow – courtesy of Yakima Herald

Botta’s Pocket Gopher – but please, never grab one, let alone put it there – courtesy of Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists

Milky slug … pray you don’t find one in your cereal – courtesy of Maryland Biodiversity Project

Dam, Is The Page Over Already?

Courtesy of KSL NewsRadio

Sources:

1. Sakas, Michael Elizabeth and Bures, Sarah. “Indigenous tribes were pushed away from the Colorado River. A new generation is fighting to save it”. Colorado Public Radio. 10 May 2023. https://www.cpr.org/2023/05/10/indigenous-tribes-were-pushed-away-from-the-colorado-river-a-new-generation-is-fighting-for-equity/
2. Loomis, Brandon. “50 years later, Glen Canyon Dam still controversial”. USA Today. 14 October 2013 (Published and Updated). https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/14/glen-canyon-dam-50-years/2981273/
3. “The coming of Glen Canyon Dam”. University of Utah. https://exhibits.lib.utah.edu/s/glen-canyon/page/the-coming-of-glen-canyon-dam
4. “Plants”. National Park Service. 28 April 2023 (Updated). https://www.nps.gov/glca/learn/nature/plants.htm
5. “Hanging Gardens”. National Park Service. 12 July 2023 (Updated). https://www.nps.gov/glca/learn/nature/hanginggardens.htm
6. “Vascular Plants”. National Park Service. 1 May 2023 (Updated). https://www.nps.gov/glca/learn/nature/vascularplants.htm
7. “Rare Plants”. National Park Service. 26 April 2023 (Updated). https://www.nps.gov/glca/learn/nature/rareplants.htm
8. “Glen Canyon Park Check List”. iNaturalist. Page 1. https://www.inaturalist.org/check_lists/7040-Glen-Canyon-Park-Check-List
9. “Glen Canyon Park Check List”. iNaturalist. Page 2. https://www.inaturalist.org/check_lists/7040-Glen-Canyon-Park-Check-List?page=2