CONSTRUCTION OF GLEN CANYON DAM LAKE POWELL PAGE ARIZONA 49844

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The International Harvester Company in cooperation with the United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation presents “A Bridge to the Future,” the story of the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam, a concrete arch-gravity dam (mark 03:00) near the town of Page, Arizona. The 710-foot high dam was built from 1956 to 1966 and forms Lake Powell, one of the largest man-made reservoirs in the United States. Although the film begins with the 1959 opening of a bridge over Glen Canyon in Northern Arizona - one constructed on ancestral Navajo Indian land - a spectacular steel arch spanning the Colorado River “like a gleaming cathedral in the wilderness” (mark 02:18), the bridge was just part of a larger project. Respected NBC newscaster Chet Huntley serves as narrator, and he explains that the story of “winning America’s West” is essentially a tale of its dams. Without dams, he explains, water would never have found its way to the parched earth. The dam is the product of more than 35 years of planning by engineers, he explains at mark 04:45, with the camera zooming to a three-dimensional scale model at mark 05:26 and a discussion of the dam’s construction. The remote location presented a variety of problems, Huntley explains, first requiring the construction of a simple footbridge (mark 07:50). As the film continues, Huntley continues to explain the challenges and how they were overcome. Trucks are shown hauling away tons of rock blown from the canyon walls (mark 13:25), a process that took nearly two years. A tunnel constructed to relocate the path of the Colorado River nears completion in 1959, as is shown at mark 16:02. With a temporary dam in place (mark 21:50), the town of Page, which sprung up as a housing community for workers and their families during the construction, continued to grow as the film shows an aerial view of the community at mark 22:00 before visiting the town swimming pool, grade school, churches, and hospital. At mark 24:05 we see the first bucket of concrete for the dam deposited during a ceremony on June 17, 1960, and workers prepare to construct the dam itself.
Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona, United States, near the town of Page. The 710-foot (220 m) high dam was built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) from 1956 to 1966 and forms Lake Powell, one of the largest man-made reservoirs in the U.S. with a capacity of 27 million acre feet (33 km3). The dam is named for Glen Canyon, a series of deep sandstone gorges now flooded by the reservoir; Lake Powell is named for John Wesley Powell, who in 1869 led the first expedition to traverse the Colorado's Grand Canyon by boat.
During years of drought, Glen Canyon guarantees a water delivery to the Lower Basin states, without the need for rationing in the Upper Basin. In wet years, it captures extra runoff for future use. The dam is also a major source of hydroelectricity, averaging over 4 billion kilowatt hours per year. The long and winding Lake Powell, known for its scenic beauty and recreational opportunities including houseboating, fishing and water-skiing, attracts millions of tourists each year to the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
In addition to its flooding of the scenic Glen Canyon, the dam's economic justification was highly questioned; with what critics saw as unnecessary damage to the wilderness, it became "a catalyst for the modern environmental movement," and was one of the last dams of its size to be built in the United States.The dam has been criticized for the huge evaporative losses from Lake Powell and its heavy impact on the ecology of the Grand Canyon, which lies downstream; environmental groups continue to advocate for the dam's removal. Water managers and utilities state that the dam is a major source of renewable energy and provides a vital defense against severe droughts.
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[@Chris.Davies]

Thank you so much for syncing the video frame rate to the original 24 fps colour film footage. Most producers are clueless. Modern stuff is 60fps or GTFO, but respecting old formats with appropriate frame rates is very important for visual continuity and integrity.

[@johnjenkins6547]

I had an uncle that helped build the Dam, start to finish.

[@jmyazzie08]

My grandpa was a Navajo union carpenter and worked on that dam, he was a high scaler hangin off the side of the cliff drillling holes in the canyon sandstone wall, he also poured concrete. He said before he started working there he had a vision one night of a big dam and he was swinging on a rope on the canyon wall. My grandparents were part of the government termination program and were sent to Chicago for relocation off the reservation. It was there he found through the union that he had a job waiting for hime in Page, AZ. He started back to Arizona selling his tools for gas just to get back and found out what his vision meant when he started working 0n the dam. I remember before he passed he took me to Glen Canyon dam and told me about the time he worked there when he was young. He is shown in one of the films at the Glen canyon dam visitors center pouring concrete. My grandmother told me she lived there at the construction worker camp while he worked. She said some of the Navajo workers built shelters from the huge cardboard boxes that materials were shipped in. Years later in 2008 I was building a home for the Navajo tribals housing and I came across an old house made with cardboard on the homesite we were going to build on. Many stories about that dam I have heard, my best freind's grandpa also worked at that dam but he died one day on the road heading to work in page.

[@K-Effect]

I like seeing all of these international trucks doing work

[@cpcattin]

A great accomplishment by man. A tremendous asset for the USA. Working for over 50 years exactly as the planners predicted. Chet Huntley was half of the news team Huntley-Brinkley. What an incredible project !

[@herbertotto4725]

Fantastic achievement ! A glimpse into what it took to build pyramids. Amazing to see how fast Mother Nature has been able to reduce the California drought problem in Winter 2022-2023. In Arizona, have had to spill water from overfilling reservoirs. Give man a chance. We have to work together on big problems. Hydroelectric power will be needed worldwide for decades. Too much snow/precipitation in Winter 2022-2023. Now - to harness it for all of us.

[@kenmore01]

Great video, thanks!

[@foxtrot35]

Sure enjoy seeing videos like these. Construction projects and Americas use of natural resourses. Good to see good jobs for Americans along with our desire to build together projects for our greater good. As for how it fits into today's eco friendly world, there are answers that would keep this dam in place serving man and helping eco issue. We are just getting better data on rain fall curves, stretching water usage, such as Israel uses, with population growth. We can have our dam cake and drink with it too if we really want all sides to win!

[@rogerdavies6226]

virtually all of this dam went by my home

[@jonnybalz]

Will be a giant skateboarding wall in 20 yrs

[@chadsimmons6347]

this is a good upload

[@mattcolver1]

Hayduke Lives!

[@MrJimgillnm]

I gotta tell Ya, I am Very Happy those Guys built that Dam.

[@patrickr9606]

Jim Gill why...it loses more water than it releases through evaporation!

[@elvissurman8079]

What does it look like now?

[@ilovecops5499]

A guy named Glen Canyon builts the dams and nameds its afterhimslef. Wow, how ARROGANTS was hes!! Thanks YoUS!@

[@sadams12345678]

Quoted directly from the description of this video: "The dam is named for Glen Canyon, a series of deep sandstone gorges now flooded by the reservoir"

[@Tuberuser187]

This is not true, yet even if it was designing and leading the construction of something like this? Deserved "arrogance", I bet you never achieved anything bigger than a sandcastle.

[@UTBDubya]

Now in 2022, this dam's useful life is over. Now. it's time has come to be removed from the canyon of the Colorado River and it's electrical generation to be converted to other more modern means. Now in 2022, we really need the water more than we need the electricity.

[@mjghouston]

Oh if OSHA could see this video haha

[@michael-dm2bv]

ratio of death to work how many idiots died, building the golden gate bridge? see? osha, unnecessary

[@biggs555666]

Great video! Love Lake Powell and the dam. The typical ignorant eco whacko talk is funny

[@DurgaDas96]

There’s nothing wrong with being concerned about the environmental impact of technological growth. Yes, Lake Powell is beautiful.

[@63256325N]

I do hope they've completed plans for the day it fails. Because it will fail.

[@nebtheweb8885]

Na, it will fill up with sediment long before it fails.

[@richardbrown5346]

Yep get the heck out of the way .lol

[@StereoSpace]

Drink up Ivan, and raise a toast to your dictator, the man who pays your salary.

[@educatedmanholecoverbyrich8890]

After thousands of year the river does not give up! Typical Religious propaganda. It's millions of years, idiot!

[@MF11283]

Wouldnt millions be thousands still, just a lot more thousands 😝

[@elainegreen5855]

@Educated A**holecover. Typical evolution THEORY shrill attack. We have a book proven to be true by the Dead Sea Scrolls. You have a guy on a dog boat who even doubted his own THEORY.

[@xandervk2371]

@@elainegreen5855 Wow, that burst you up real good.

[@ElaineSimplyEL]

The dam choked off the water to the Navajo Nation...Genocide plot!!!

[@aaronmayhew2.0]

It's seems that's an on going agenda of the leaders of the world. Won't be the last. Until we are all dead.

[@ElaineSimplyEL]

@@aaronmayhew2.0 sad

[@aaronmayhew2.0]

@@ElaineSimplyEL Very sad. Let's see how many people are injured from this vakseen agenda. It's not going to be pretty.

[@ElaineSimplyEL]

@@aaronmayhew2.0 I'm not taking the vax!!!

[@aaronmayhew2.0]

@@ElaineSimplyEL me neither but forced means forced. Too many people will take it

[@rogerjackson484]

How to ruin a wilderness brought to you by The Bureau of Reclamation