Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona, USA
Architect
Location
 Coconino County, Arizona
Date Built
 Completed 1966
Description
The Glen Canyon Dam was built to store the water of the Colorado River in a vast lake on the border of Utah and Arizona and to harness the power of the river to generate electricity.  The concrete dam is 1560 feet long at the rim and ranges from 25 feet wide at the top to 300 feet wide at the base.  4,901,000 cubic yards of concrete were used in its construction.  


The US Bureau of Reclamation's website says that it, "... is the second highest concrete-arch dam in the United States, second only to Hoover Dam which stands at 726 feet (above bedrock). But Glen Canyon Dam is significant for many reasons beyond its size. The 26.2 million acre-feet of water storage capacity in Lake Powell, created by Glen Canyon Dam, serves as a ‘bank account’ of water that is drawn on in times of drought. This stored water has made it possible to successfully weather extended dry periods by sustaining the needs of cities, industries, and agriculture throughout the West.  Hydroelectric power produced by the dam’s eight generators helps meet the electrical needs of the West’s rapidly growing population. With a total capacity of 1,320 megawatts, Glen Canyon Powerplant produces around five billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectric power annually which helps supply the electrical needs of about 5.8 million customers. .... The designation of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (NRA) in 1972, underscores the value and importance of the recreation benefits associated with Lake Powell and the Colorado River downstream of the dam. The many recreational opportunities available draw numerous visitors from around the world each year."
 

The image above is shown under this license

The construction of the dam required a means of crossing the canyon so in 1956 construction started on the Glen Canyon Bridge seen in the image above.  The construction of the bridge was awarded to Peter Kiewit Sons and the Judson Pacific Murphy Co. for $4 million and it was completed in 1957.  The  finished bridge was 1,271 feet long and rose 700 feet above the river.  It was, at that time, the highest bridge of its kind in the United States and one of the highest in the world. Below you can see the view from the bridge.




Behind the dam is Lake Powell with a storage capacity of approximately 27,000,000 acre-feet making it the second largest man-made reservoir in the US.

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