Glen Canyon Dam Quick Facts
Glen Canyon Dam is the principal water storage unit of the Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP). Built in a virtually inaccessible area, it is one of the major engineering and construction achievements in the United States. Glen Canyon Dam impounds Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in the country. The water supply stored in Lake Powell represents about 80 percent of the total combined storage capacity of the four CRSP initial units. This vital storage reservoir functions like a bank account of water to be drawn upon in times of drought. Without Glen Canyon Dam, the annual water delivery obligations to the Lower Basin could likely not be met during drought periods without creating significant shortages in the Upper Basin. Water stored in Lake Powell provides municipal, industrial, agricultural benefits as well as recreation opportunities and hydropower production.
| Glen Canyon Dam | |
| Type | Concrete arch |
| Construction period | 1957 - 1964 |
| Prime contractor | Merritt-Chapman & Scott |
| Height above bedrock | 710 feet (216 meters) |
| Height above original river channel | 583 feet (178 meters) |
| Crest length (arc at axis of dam) | 1,560 feet (475 meters) |
| Volume of concrete: Dam only Powerplant only Total concrete |
4,901,000 cubic yards (3,750,000 cubic meters) 469,000 cubic yards (359,000 cubic meters) 5,370,000 (4,110,000 cubic meters) |
| Capacity of concrete bucket | 24 tons (22 metric tons) |
| Number of buckets of concrete | 400,000 approximately |
| Cost of dam, powerplant & appurtenant structures | $245,000,000 |
| Glen Canyon Powerplant | |
| Number of generating units | 8 |
| Installed capacity | 1,320,000 kilowatts |
| Average annual power generation | 5 billion kilowatt hours |
| Glen Canyon Bridge | |
| Type | Steel arch |
| Construction period | 1957 - 1959 |
| Height above river | 700 feet (213 meters) |
| Span of bridge arch | 1,028 feet (313.3 meters) |
| Length of deck | 1,271 feet (387.4 meters) |
| Vertical rise of arch | 165 feet (50.3 meters) |
| Lake Powell | |
| Start of storage | March 13, 1963 |
| Completion of initial filing | June 22, 1980 |
| Live capacity at elevation 3,700 | 24,322,000 acre-feet (30,001 million cubic meters) |
| Surface area when full | 266 miles (68,900 hectares) |
| Length of lake | 186 miles (299 kilometers) |
| Miles of shoreline | 1,960 miles (3,150 kilometers) |
| Depth of water at dam when full | 560 feet (171 meters) |