Flood Journal Entry
Dam is Opened to Flood Grand Canyon (March 17, 2008)
The Colorado River runs through the Grand Canyon. The river was intentionally flooded recently. United States Park Service.
The floodgates at Glen Canyon Dam were opened wide to flood the Colorado River downriver through the Grand Canyon. The goal is to do artificially what natural floods once did. Until forty years ago, floods regularly flooded the majestic canyon and replenished the river's supply of nourishing sediments.
For three days straight, 300,000 gallons of water poured out of the gates every second. That's enough water to completely fill a massive skyscraper in just 20 minutes. Hopefully, sediments swept along by the floods will rebuild the river's sandbars and help bring its ecosystem back to a healthy state.
Before the Glen Canyon Dam was built in 1963, the Colorado River flowing through the canyon was muddier than it is today. Natural floods regularly built up the river's sandbars with sediments. The sandbars helped keep the community of plants and animals healthy.
Things changed quickly after the dam went up. Ninety-eight percent of the river's sediment was lost within the canyon, as was much of the living diversity. At least four fish species have gone extinct and two others are endangered. Nothing can bring the extinct species back. But scientists say regular floods will greatly improve the river's health from this point on.
