Lake Powell

Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling the border between Utah and Arizona (most of it, along with Rainbow Bridge, is in Utah). It is a major vacation spot that around 2 million people visit every year. It is the second largest man-made reservoir by maximum water capacity in the United States behind Lake Mead, storing 24,322,000 acre feet (3.0001×10¹⁰ m³) of water when full. However, due to high water withdrawals for human and agricultural consumption, and because of subsequent droughts in the area, Lake Powell is currently larger than Mead in terms of volume of water currently held, depth and surface area. Lake Powell was created by the flooding of Glen Canyon by the Glen Canyon Dam, which also led to the creation of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, a popular summer destination. The reservoir is named for explorer John Wesley Powell, a one-armed American Civil War veteran who explored the river via three wooden boats in 1869.

In 1972, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area was established. It is public land managed by the National Park Service, and available to the public for recreational purposes. It lies in parts of Garfield, Kane, and San Juan counties in southern Utah, and Coconino County in northern Arizona. The northern limits of the lake extend at least as far as the Hite Crossing Bridge. A map centered at the confluence of the Escalante River 37°17′22″N 110°52′20″W / 37.28944°N 110.87222°W / 37.28944; -110.87222 with the Colorado River gives a good view of the extent of the lake.

Lake Powell (Virginia)

Lake Powell is an artificial pond located in James City County, Virginia. In 2006, flood damage from Tropical Storm Ernesto caused the earthen retaining dam which formed the lake to burst and empty.

Description and history

Lake Powell is located in James City County, Virginia within three miles of the historic Jamestown site and colonial Williamsburg. The lake was formed by the damming of Mill Creek. The origins of the lake are unknown, though some sources contend it was dammed as early as the 1750s. The earliest confirmed records of the lake are from the Peninsula Water Company and date to some time in the 1800s. In 1924, the lake was purchased by the Powell Family for which it is now named. Prior to its break, the lake covered 81 acres. All lake shore access was located on private property, though the lake itself was owned by a separate private party. The dam holding back Lake Powell has broken numerous times in the past, including four times since 1991 alone, with the first major break occurring in 1999 due to Hurricane Floyd. The latest break occurred on October 7, 2006, when rains from Tropical Storm Ernesto caused a major breach that caused the dam to burst. Currently, the former lake bed contains a variable amount of muddy water. Much of it has since started to grow in with brush.