Lake Powell’s rising waters open up a shortcut

We all know that what goes up must come down.

But at Lake Powell, the centerpiece of 1.25-million-acre Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on the Utah-Arizona border, the reverse is also true, it seems.

Record snowpack and melt is expected to nearly fill the lake this summer after a multiyear drought that lowered the water level by more than 100 feet, shrank the lake’s length by more than 40 miles and forced officials to close beaches, docks and visitor facilities in areas that had become unnavigable.

Rising water comes as a boon to houseboaters who will be able to explore hidden coves and canyons that were inaccessible during the drought.

Castle Rock Cut, top, a 12-mile shortcut leading north from Wahweap Marina, was officially reopened on June 10 for the first time in five years.

The news is not so good, however, for some outdoor enthusiasts and environmentalists who hoped that ongoing water recession would expose features submerged when the artificial lake was created, such as Cathedral in the Desert on the Escalante River, an up-lake tributary.

About 100 miles north of the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell is actually a reservoir on the Colorado River, impounded by Glen Canyon Dam in 1963. The last time it was close to being full was in 1999, when the water level stood at nearly 3,700 feet above sea level. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages water flow at the lake, estimates that it will reach 3,638 feet above sea level by July.

– Susan Spano, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

[Photos: Castle Rock Cut, top; and the forming of the cut, bottom; Aramark / Lake Powell Resorts & Marinas]

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This entry was posted on Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 7:01 am by Susan Spano and is filed under Arizona, Eco-Travel, Summer, Utah. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.