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Gary Ladd's Lake Powell
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GARY LADD
In March of 1963 the diversion gates of Glen Canyon Dam were permanently sealed shut. An artificial lake, a new lake cradled in a desert of sandstone monuments, began to materialize. Although 18 years would pass before Lake Powell reached full, only a few months were needed to still the pulse of the Colorado River as the lake crept upstream from the Arizona dam site into Utah's slickrocak wilderness.
It inched up golden cliffs draped in patina, it drowned native plants that thrived on little rain, and it darkened the twisting side canyons that once glowed with an incandescent desert light. For those who knew the living river and its enchanted, sleeping canyon, the creation of Lake Powell was a horror.
Yet, for those ignorant of the glory of the old canyon, the lake was a miracle of beauty and recreational opportunity. Arriving in the region seven years too late to see the storied canyon in its unflooded state, I was sickened and mystified by its destruction. More than 30 years later, as a large-format photographer and naturalist, I still mourn the lost canyon. ...
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The March/April 2003 Issue is out. Find it at Las Vegas bookstores today.
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