Glen Canyon Dam

dam, Arizona, United States

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June 17, 2026

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The Glen Canyon Dam is a dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona. Completed in 1966, it forms an artificial lake called Lake Powell, which is primarily in southeastern Utah.1

The construction of dams, including the Glen Canyon Dam, has raised environmental and economic concerns. These concerns include the impact on fish populations, the obliteration of landscapes, and the displacement of native peoples. The Glen Canyon Dam, in particular, has been criticized by environmentalists for destroying a pristine landscape. Before the dam's completion, the Colorado River carried a significant amount of sediment daily, demonstrating its erosive power in shaping the Grand Canyon.23

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Colorado River
Economic development
In the mid-1960s Glen Canyon Dam was completed, impounding Lake Powell. The dam was a controversial project: opposition to its construction helped shift policy from building large dams toward concepts of water management, environmental protection, and policy analysis. Three other large multiple-storage projects upstream have been completed on…
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In the mid-1960s Glen Canyon Dam was completed, impounding Lake Powell. The dam was a controversial project: opposition to its construction helped shift policy from building large dams toward concepts of water management, environmental protection, and policy analysis. Three other large multiple-storage projects upstream have been completed on…
Read More

dam
Rise of environmental and economic concerns
…dropped opposition to the proposed Glen Canyon Dam across the Colorado River near the Arizona-Utah border, and this 216-metre (710-foot) high concrete arch dam, built between 1956 and 1966, eventually came to be seen by environmentalists as being responsible for destroying a beautiful pristine landscape encompassing thousands of square kilometres.…
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…dropped opposition to the proposed Glen Canyon Dam across the Colorado River near the Arizona-Utah border, and this 216-metre (710-foot) high concrete arch dam, built between 1956 and 1966, eventually came to be seen by environmentalists as being responsible for destroying a beautiful pristine landscape encompassing thousands of square kilometres.…
Read More