drought

“Wisdom in Patience” - The Re-emergence of Glen Canyon

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As the drought continues and water levels continue to drop, we decided to go have a look. We told our board about the idea and it turns out that board member Catherine Smith rafted the Colorado River through Glen Canyon as a teenager in 1955. We were so pleased that she insisted on coming along.

The level when we took our trip in May was only 1/4 full at 3523 feet – just 33 feet above the minimum power pool of 3,490 feet, or where there’s not enough water to run the power generators. Dead pool is 120 feet lower, at 3,370 feet.

But the big picture is that Lake Powell is really only of value to generate power, tourist economy aside. So if it drops below minimum power pool, then evaporation and rock-saturation coefficients start to play in. So, is Lake Powell doomed? And is Glen Canyon going to return?