Ask
anyone who has visited Page for a first impression. The response will
range from “incredible” to “awesome.” Page is a thriving
Arizona tourist community of 6,200 visited annually by over 3 million
travelers who come to enjoy the water recreation features of Lake Powell and
other tourist attractions in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah.
Stunningly beautiful red canyon walls tower above the blue-green crystal
clear water of the lake. The cloudless Arizona sky and abundant
sunshine add to the idyllic scene. Climbing toward Page on
highway US89, the panorama suddenly appears. Looking down on Glen
Canyon Dam, from this the far eastern rim of the Grand Canyon, one sees the
astonishing beauty of Lake Powell spread out in the rocky abyss below.
Page
was named for John Chatfield Page, the commissioner of reclamation who
devoted many years to the development of the upper Colorado River. Page,
Arizona provided a base of operation and housing center for the huge number
of construction workers and their families engaged in building the gigantic
Glen Canyon Dam in the Colorado River between Arizona and Utah. The dam
created Lake Powell, the largest man-made lake in America.
The
town is now a center for outfitters who provide trips into the Glen Canyon
National Recreation Area. Scenic flights over Lake Powell and the
surrounding Navajo country as well as to the Grand Canyon depart from the
Page airport. Lake Powell boat trips and Glen Canyon raft trips can be
arranged through the Page Chamber of Commerce.
Lake
Powell stretches for hundreds of miles. Its beaches, canyon walls and
floor reveal countless geological wonders and thousands of years of ancient
Native American history. Glen
Canyon Dam is immense. It rises 710 feet above the Colorado River bedrock
with a 1,560 foot long crest. It is 300 feet thick at the base and holds
back some 9 trillion gallons of water. The dam conserves water from a
246,000 gallon watershed and provides electricity for the Pacific southwest
and the Rocky Mountain areas.
Page
has a busy airport, visitors’ center, museum, library and eleven churches
standing side by side on one street. At the Carl Hayden Visitor
Center, an illustrated history of the construction of the dam unfolds along
with exhibits giving interesting details about the project. A guided
tour of the generating plant provides further information. Nearby is a
small museum dedicated to Major John Wesley Powell who explored the Colorado
River, despite losing his right arm in an earlier Civil War battle.
Powell wrote passionately about the wonders of the River and canyons.
He made a return trip in 1871 and further documented his amazing journey.
Exhibits focus on Native American artifacts discovered in the area.
Ancient
history is evident throughout Lake Powell with petroglyphs created over 2000
years ago by the Anasazi nation who farmed along the Colorado River. There
are many archeological sites on Lake Powell including the ruins of Defiance
House in Iceberg Canyon. The Anasazi disappeared about 700 years ago.
Today the Navajo, Ute and Paiute Indian tribes have established their homes
in the vicinity.
Lake
Powell has a reputation for providing some of nature’s best backcountry
hiking and four-wheel excursions. Houseboat vacations are extremely popular
because the expansive lake offers deep bays and canyon-lined fingers that
can take many days to explore and enjoy. The rose-colored beaches are ready
for exploration and relaxation.
Other
recreational opportunities include boat tours to the world's largest natural
stone arch, Rainbow Bridge National Monument; overland tours to a slot
canyon; antelope sightings, and trout fishing below Glen Canyon Dam on
the Colorado River. There is hiking; a smooth water float trip between
high sandstone canyon walls; scenic flights giving an overview of this
immense mesa and plateau country; scuba diving through the canyons of Lake
Powell; mountain biking the pink and red sandstone slickrock bowls; an
eighteen hole championship golf course with incomparable views of the lake
and Glen Canyon Dam. These are just a few of the activities visitors
enjoy. There are a variety of restaurants offering choices from patio
dining to superb cuisine. There are also gift shops, galleries and
antique stores.
Join
the 3 million people who visit Page and Lake Powell each year. Page
and Lake Powell, Arizona vacation memories last a lifetime.
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