I headed towards Glen Canyon Dam near Page, Arizona.

Glen Canyon Dam was constructed and is operated by the  Bureau of Reclamation, an agency within the Department of Interior. The controversy surrounding the construction of the dam is often cited as the beginning of the modern-day environmental movement.

As part of the authorization of the dam project, a unit called Glen Canyon Environmental Studies (GCES) was formed to study the impact of the dam on the Colorado River, through Marble and Grand Canyons downstream. Their findings have changed dramatically the way the dam is operated today.

When the dam was completed and Lake Powell was formed in 1963, the irregular flows of the Colorado River were brought under control. The now-steady flow from the dam and Lake Powell makes water developments possible throughout the Upper Colorado River Basin and provides a regulated supply of water to meet downstream commitments.

Glen Canyon Dam was constructed in 26 separate vertical blocks by placing successive 7.5-foot layers known as lifts on top of each other. You can still see the faint horizontal lines between each layer. The first concrete was placed in June 1960, and the dam was topped out in September 1963.