Dam Plaza, Dam Coffee, Dam Mexican Food, Dam Tours… The Glen Canyon Dam lends its last name to many of the businesses in Page, AZ. Page was originally built to house the Dam workers, now it is an oasis in the middle of the desert. The Dam created a huge recreation area 180 miles long with 2000 miles of shoreline. But the Dam also inundated one of the most wild and scenic stretches of the Colorado River and obliterated dozens of historic native american sites. Damn that Dam…

On another note, there is so much water in Lake Powell that if the Dam were to fail, the water level would rise 500 feet in 4 – 5 hours at Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The water would flow over Hoover Dam for 11 days – if it held… If you thought Katrina was a disaster, this scenario is predicted to result in the greatest economic catastrophe of modern times.

Funny what you learn while on the road…