The Lost Canyon under Lake Powell

[DrLove]

Great read from The New Yorker. Since 2000, Lake Powell has dropped 140 feet exposing canyons that few still alive ever saw after it was dammed in 1960. Story too long to C&P so hopefully you don't get paywalled.

An enormous rock chamber, known as Cathedral in the Desert, opened before us. The sandstone walls were rounded, but far above our heads they came together, so that the sky was visible only through a slim, S-shaped opening. A curl of sunlight fell on the sand. At the far end of the chamber, a narrow waterfall trickled into a pool. As in a real cathedral, a sombre hush prevailed.​

The Lost Canyon Under Lake Powell

Drought is shrinking one of the country’s largest reservoirs, revealing a hidden Eden.

www.newyorker.com

 

[Scottish_Brexiteer_UK]

That's cool as fuck. Nature/the earth has some amazing sights for us should we choose to seek them out, share them and embrace it.

 

[bodecea]

I remember the con-troversy when the dam at Page was built because Lake Powell would hide all those beautiful canyons.

 

[odanny]

Just imagine if we turned mighty rivers like the Mississippi and Colorado back to their natural state. Sadly it has taken a prolonged drought to discover these beautiful caverns once flooded. 140 feet, think about that. That's major water loss. They are no experimenting with ways to slow evaporation and reduce water loss.

 

[DrLove]

I remember the con-troversy when the dam at Page was built because Lake Powell would hide all those beautiful canyons.

Yep, the story talks about that. I was maybe 3 at the time so no memory, but the debate was quite heated.

 

[DrLove]

Just imagine if we turned mighty rivers like the Mississippi and Colorado back to their natural state. Sadly it has taken a prolonged drought to discover these beautiful caverns once flooded. 140 feet, think about that. That's major water loss. They are no experimenting with ways to slow evaporation and reduce water loss.

Yep, and if they lose another 40 feet, there'll be bigly trouble.

“If Powell goes down another forty feet, that’s just spitting distance from power pool,” Balken told me. “And, as soon as that threshold gets passed, all the incentives change. The whole conversation changes. I think people just don’t want to admit it to themselves.”​

Lake Mead is also so low they are having to close or move boat launches, docks and entire marinas. Mead used to be a beautiful lake with some of the best boating and water skiing on the planet. I had a month long work assignment in Vegas in the mid 80s. A couple of days we rented a ski boat and just had a blast. Sad

As Lake Mead drops below shortage mark, shifting shorelines keep marinas in motion

The Colorado River's largest reservoir has fallen below a key measure and, with shorelines shifting, marinas must move and boat ramps extended.

www.azcentral.com