395:
1951. The work at the lower site at river mile 39.5 left two drifts measuring about 5 feet (1.5 m) by 7 feet (2.1 m) and about 50 feet (15 m) deep in the cliffs on either side of the river, together with 32 drill holes in the river bed. At the upper site, about 7 miles (11 km) upstream at river mile 32.8, there were a total of 35 drill holes and two drifts 100 feet (30 m) and 75 feet (23 m) deep. The work sites were accessed by an aerial tram from the rim. Although the lower site was preferred due to an additional 30 feet (9.1 m) of hydraulic head and potentially 45% larger reservoir than was possible at the upper site, it required more work to remediate weak rock joints. The project was not pursued by the Bureau of
Reclamation in the 1950s. In 1960 the Arizona Power Authority became interested in the site, whose reservoir would have been entirely in Arizona, giving the state control over the waters and power generation. In 1963 the effort was endorsed by Bureau of Reclamation director
391:, which designated sites for "an unbroken string of dams from the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming to the last canyons of the Colorado River along the California/Arizona border". Although the Bureau of Reclamation expressed interest at this time in developing hydroelectric generation at the Marble site, these plans were postponed in favor of building the Hoover Dam, which would provide a much greater storage capacity for irrigation and flood control. However, once Hoover was completed the Bureau once again set its sights on the Grand Canyon, which has the greatest hydroelectric potential of any canyon in the American Southwest. In the late 1940s, crews led by Bureau engineer Bert Lucas began to survey Marble Canyon and identified at least two suitable dam sites, one 32.8 miles (52.8 km) below Lee's Ferry and the second at 39.4 miles (63.4 km). A 25-mile (40 km) road had to be built to connect the nearest highway to "one of the most inaccessible damsites ever explored by Bureau of Reclamation engineers".
36:
865:
338:, avoiding the construction of more dams within the park between Marble and Bridge. A flow of 1,000 cubic feet per second (28 m/s) would be released from Marble Canyon at all times – a "scenic trickle" – for wildlife and recreational purposes in the Grand Canyon. This water would be released through a 22 megawatt power station at the base of the dam, with an annual energy production of 164 million kilowatt hours. Together, the two dams would utilize most of the 1,900-foot (580 m) elevation drop between Lee's Ferry and
346:
853:
311:
keep the small reservoir free of silt, silt retention dams were needed on the tributary canyons. The retention dam in Paria Canyon was planned to be 380 feet (120 m) tall, and only 70 feet (21 m) wide at the base and 120 feet (37 m) wide at the crest, retaining 100 years of silt deposits. Despite these measures, the Marble Canyon reservoir was projected to have a lifespan of 104 years before filling with silt.
877:
412:
43:
427:, effectively forestalling the possibility of a dam in Marble Canyon. In 1975 the monument was added to Grand Canyon National Park by the Grand Canyon Enlargement Act. The lower dam would have flooded a number of natural features, including Redwall Cavern and Vasey's Paradise. The upper dam was located just above the cavern, and was sometimes referred to as Redwall Dam.
399:. Investigations for the project's feasibility report extended into 1964. In 1965 a Bureau of Reclamation report concluded that solution cavities in the upstream limestone would prevent the reservoir from holding water. By 1968, as part of a bargain between the Arizona delegation to Congress, which supported the
310:
was regarded as one of the most remote and difficult-to-access dam sites in the United States, about 2,500 feet (760 m) below the rim of the canyon. The proposed dam was of moderate size, about 310 feet (94 m) high, using a thin-arch concrete design and retaining about 363,000 acre-feet. To
394:
In 1949 the Bureau opened bids for the construction of a 3,400-foot (1,000 m) cableway to transport workers and materials down into the remote canyon at Mile 32.8. Once the cableway was completed, a temporary camp was set up on the bottom of the gorge, and exploratory drilling work commenced in
322:, by diverting about 90% of the Colorado River's waters at Marble Canyon into a 38-mile (61 km) tunnel, 36 feet (11 m) in diameter and capable of carrying about 14,000 cubic feet per second (400 m/s), to a site in the western part of the canyon in what was then
365:
The two dams would be operated as "cash register" power plants, meaning that sale of hydroelectricity would pay for their construction cost as well as provide funds for future reclamation projects. The power thus produced would be vital for pumping along the
378:
system to the
Colorado River, which continues to face shortages due to over-appropriation of its flow. Thus, "hydropower at Bridge and Marble Canyon Dams was viewed as an instrument and not as a major goal in itself".
374:, which sits about 2,000 feet (610 m) higher than the Colorado River. The Bureau had even grander visions, too: eventually, this generated revenue would be necessary to fund water import projects from the
353:
A number of accessory lakes or pools were projected in the adjacent Deer Creek drainage, or possibly at a 450-foot (140 m) dam on Kanab Creek. The power station at Deer Creek would have been at the
1340:
248:
to develop hydroelectric power. Plans centered on two sites between miles 30 and 40 in the canyon. At one point a 38-mile (61 km) tunnel was proposed to a site just outside
1440:
1450:
806:
283:. The two dams would have operated as "cash register" facilities to provide funds for future reclamation projects through the sale of cheap hydropower.
362:. By the 1960s the tunnel project had been dropped in favor of a 600 MW power station at the dam's base, reducing the project's costs considerably.
326:. The plan would provide about 1,300 feet (400 m) of hydraulic head for power generation. The power plant would produce about 6.5 billion
370:(CAP), which would lift water from the Colorado River near Lake Havasu to central and southern Arizona. The pumped water would reach as far as
455:
1335:
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271:, located at the lower end of the Grand Canyon, it would have provided the hydroelectric power necessary to lift Colorado River water from
35:
286:
After a series of studies and site investigations, the dam was abandoned as a project in order to facilitate legislation creating the
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909:
403:, and the California delegation, which opposed the project and the dam, the Marble Canyon project was dropped from the plan.
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to develop the site's full power generation potential, reducing the
Colorado River to a trickle through the park.
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687:
Board, W.S.T.; Studies, C.R.G.C.E.; Council, N.R.; Commission on
Geosciences, E.R.; Studies, D.E.L. (1991).
686:
1181:
690:
Colorado River
Ecology and Dam Management:: Proceedings of a Symposium May 24-25, 1990 Santa Fe, New Mexico
1035:
244:, United States. The dam was intended to impound a relatively small reservoir in the central portion of
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902:
843:
618:"National Park Service: A Survey of the Recreational Resources of the Colorado River Basin (Chapter 7)"
596:"National Park Service: A Survey of the Recreational Resources of the Colorado River Basin (Chapter 7)"
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Map showing the Marble and Bridge Canyon Dam projects proposed by the Bureau of
Reclamation
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807:"Pruning the Parks: Whatever Became of Marble Canyon National Monument (1969–1975)?"
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50:
Location of the proposed Marble Canyon Dam in the western United States, lower site
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One appealing aspect of a Marble Canyon damsite was the potential to develop the
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Downcanyon: A Naturalist
Explores the Colorado River Through the Grand Canyon
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The feasibility of Marble Canyon Dam was first explored in the 1920s by the
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National
Register of Historic Places listings in Grand Canyon National Park
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334:. The tunnel would allow the hydroelectric system to effectively bypass
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461:. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. January 1964. p. 12. Archived from
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in 1968, which was absorbed into Grand Canyon
National Park in 1975.
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259:, work did not begin until the dam was incorporated as part of the
207:
318:'s hydroelectric potential without building a dam or reservoir in
876:
411:
241:
74:
887:
263:(USBR)'s Pacific Southwest Water Plan in the 1940s for its
666:"Speech: What's This About Flooding Out the Grand Canyon?"
748:"BQR – Spring 1997 – Life at the Marble Canyon Damsites"
832:
The Marble Canyon
Damsite: Are We Safe from the Threat?
415:
Redwall Cavern would have been flooded by the lower dam
841:
680:
1441:
Buildings and structures in Coconino County, Arizona
641:
Our National Parks and the Search for Sustainability
556:
1451:United States Bureau of Reclamation proposed dams
302:First proposed in the 1940s by the United States
275:to central Arizona's farms and cities, including
255:Although first proposed in the 1920s to generate
1422:
784:Nature, Culture and History at the Grand Canyon
903:
1336:List of trails in Grand Canyon National Park
638:
554:
910:
896:
798:
722:"BQR – Spring 1997 – Damming Grand Canyon"
804:
643:. University of Texas Press. p. 68.
42:
1041:Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument
693:. National Academies Press. p. 17.
663:
410:
344:
16:Proposed dam in Coconino County, Arizona
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563:. University of Arizona Press. p.
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290:. The dam sites were incorporated into
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330:(KWh) per year – almost twice that of
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891:
834:, republished from a 1951 article in
548:
456:"Pacific Southwest Water Plan Report"
1305:Powell Geographic Expedition of 1869
805:Repanshek, Kurt (January 20, 2009).
777:
766:
524:
515:
494:"Life at the Marble Canyon Damsites"
491:
480:
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183:363,000 acre⋅ft (0.448 km)
1310:1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision
714:
13:
838:on preliminary damsite exploration
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588:
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825:
1397:Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets
1331:Grand Canyon Backcountry Camping
917:
875:
863:
851:
423:proclaimed the establishment of
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34:
1390:The Man Who Walked Through Time
809:. National Geographic Traveleer
425:Marble Canyon National Monument
389:United States Geological Survey
292:Marble Canyon National Monument
19:Dam in Coconino County, Arizona
1446:Colorado River Storage Project
1404:Grand Canyon: A Different View
1315:Grand Canyon Airlines Flight 6
632:
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1:
958:Grand Canyon Village, Arizona
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358:backed up by the never-built
236:, was a proposed dam on the
7:
1036:Grand Canyon Forest Reserve
525:Rink, Glenn (Spring 1997).
492:Rink, Glenn (Spring 1997).
10:
1472:
1456:Grand Canyon National Park
1431:Dams on the Colorado River
948:Grand Canyon National Park
786:. Arizona State University
750:. gcrg.org. Archived from
724:. gcrg.org. Archived from
531:Boatman's Quarterly Review
498:Boatman's Quarterly Review
336:Grand Canyon National Park
320:Grand Canyon National Park
261:U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
250:Grand Canyon National Park
191:3,140 ft (960 m)
138:U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
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265:Central Arizona component
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129:$ 238 million (est.)
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1346:Grand Canyon Conservancy
1167:Uinkaret volcanic field
1046:Grand Canyon Supergroup
933:Black Suspension Bridge
401:Central Arizona Project
368:Central Arizona Project
288:Central Arizona Project
202:Installed capacity
175:Marble Canyon Reservoir
162:310 ft (94 m)
1384:(2017 children's book)
527:"Damming Grand Canyon"
416:
350:
324:Kaibab National Forest
215:Annual generation
126:Construction cost
102:36.41750°N 111.86861°W
1410:Grand Canyon Escalade
1374:A Bigger Grand Canyon
1230:Little Colorado River
943:Grand Canyon Escalade
668:. library.arizona.edu
639:O'Brien, Bob (1999).
414:
356:head of the reservoir
348:
304:Bureau of Reclamation
188:Normal elevation
1031:Grand Canyon Caverns
1021:Ericameria arizonica
953:Grand Canyon Skywalk
555:Zwinger, A. (1995).
468:on 27 September 2012
232:, also known as the
107:36.41750; -111.86861
1061:Sixtymile Formation
1056:Nankoweap Formation
1026:Esplanade Sandstone
298:Project description
180:Total capacity
98: /
1352:Grand Canyon Suite
1235:Bright Angel Creek
1155:Bright Angel Shale
996:Agave phillipsiana
419:In 1969 President
417:
351:
306:, the location in
219:2.31 billion
1418:
1417:
1359:Desert Wonderland
1135:Redwall Limestone
1105:Hyaloclastite Dam
1076:Shinumo Quartzite
968:Marble Canyon Dam
938:Bridge Canyon Dam
754:on 30 August 2008
421:Lyndon B. Johnson
360:Bridge Canyon Dam
269:Bridge Canyon Dam
230:Marble Canyon Dam
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144:Dam and spillways
25:Marble Canyon Dam
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1172:Vasey's Paradise
1100:Hermit Formation
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267:. Together with
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1377:(1998 painting)
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1085:Grand Staircase
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308:Marble Canyon
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246:Marble Canyon
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62:United States
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1382:Grand Canyon
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1366:Grand Canyon
1365:
1357:
1350:
1218:Havasu Falls
1213:Havasu Creek
1177:Venus Temple
1145:Temple Butte
1130:Prospect Dam
1120:Newton Butte
1090:Freya Castle
973:Maswik Lodge
967:
919:Grand Canyon
835:
811:. Retrieved
800:
788:. Retrieved
783:
756:. Retrieved
752:the original
742:
730:. Retrieved
726:the original
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704:. Retrieved
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670:. Retrieved
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578:. Retrieved
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535:the original
530:
506:. Retrieved
502:the original
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470:. Retrieved
463:the original
418:
397:Floyd Dominy
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364:
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316:Grand Canyon
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285:
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1368:(1958 film)
1261:Kenton Grua
1225:Kanab Creek
1150:Tonto Group
1125:Ochoa Point
1110:Isis Temple
1066:Unkar Group
1051:Chuar Group
963:Kolb Studio
407:Abandonment
383:Exploration
273:Lake Havasu
234:Redwall Dam
105: /
81:Coordinates
1425:Categories
1266:John Hance
1208:Deer Creek
926:Facilities
758:24 October
732:24 October
706:24 October
672:24 October
624:24 October
602:24 October
580:24 October
541:2014-05-25
508:2014-05-25
431:References
332:Hoover Dam
93:111°52′7″W
1282:Havasupai
620:. nps.gov
598:. nps.gov
340:Lake Mead
167:Reservoir
90:36°25′3″N
1287:Hualapai
149:Impounds
134:Owner(s)
121:Proposed
67:Location
1324:Related
988:Geology
858:Arizona
844:Portals
277:Phoenix
242:Arizona
172:Creates
75:Arizona
59:Country
1297:Events
1275:Tribes
1244:People
870:Rivers
813:24 May
790:24 May
697:
647:
571:
472:24 May
372:Tucson
281:Tucson
159:Height
118:Status
882:Water
466:(PDF)
459:(PDF)
815:2014
792:2014
760:2014
734:2014
708:2014
695:ISBN
674:2014
645:ISBN
626:2014
604:2014
582:2014
569:ISBN
474:2014
279:and
228:The
206:600
240:in
221:KWh
1427::
782:.
768:^
567:.
565:83
529:.
517:^
496:.
482:^
439:^
208:MW
73:,
911:e
904:t
897:v
846::
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476:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
