""C C'"':) ""C C;") :::io :::io c::, ::ic:-, --1 c::, :::io :::ic, r-- ""C ~ c::, c::, c:.c- ""C ~ c::, ::ic:-, :::ic, CD :::io c:::: c::, :::io :::io c::, -~ ::- ~ ::ic:-, r-- :::ic, ~ C'"':) ~ :::io c::, --1 C;") --1 ~ C;") c::, Construction of the Colorado River Storage Under the a~thor~zing le~islation four great TH f CQ L Q R A O Q RI Vf R Project is well under way. Men and their giant earth water storage umts will be built, as well as many moving machines are working under full steam to "participating pr?jects" in Colorado, New Mexico, SJ Q RA G f pR Q J f CJ tame the mighty Colorado River and its tributary Utah, and Wyommg. streams and to reshape the destiny of a vast basin Water and power from the project will provide in the arid west. opportunity for industrial expansion, agricultural Great strides have been made in building the development, growth of cities, and will create new four-state project since President Eisenhower in jobs for thousands of Americans. The project will 1956 pressed the golden telegraph key in Washing­ create new markets, stimulate trade, broaden the ton, D. C., that triggered the start of this huge tax base, and bolster national economy. reclamation development. The Colorado River Storage Project is a multi­ Appropriations by the Congress have enabled purpose development. Storage units will regulate construction to proceed - and at costs less than stream flows, create hydroelectric power, and make engineers' estimates. much-needed water available for agricultural, in­ Construction of Glen Canyon, Flaming Gorge and dustrial and municipal use. Flood control, recreation, Navajo Dams is going ahead swiftly. The Curecanti fish and wild life development have also been inte­ Storage Unit is expected to be under construction grated into the project. soon. Several important multi-purpose participating Some of the most rugged and beautiful scenery projects have been started. in the United States will be made accessible to the The Colorado River Storage Project is a phe­ average citizen when the projects are completed. nomenal undertaking. To the people of the West, it These areas, once trackless but beautiful wasteland, is a "dream come true," the end result of a half­ will provide recreational opportunity to Americans century of engineering research, planning and inter­ from every state. state negotiation. It means economic development The Project will aid national defense. It will pro­ for a remote river basin rich in natural resources, vide power and water necessary to develop minerals emerging into a new era. essential to the defense program and will create a To the people of the nation, the project means mountain stronghold vital to a secure America. a new land of opportunity, a new frontier in a vast Nature provided the resources. The Colorado area that constitutes one-twelfth of continental River Storage Project is developing them for the United States. It means the subduing of one of benefit of mankind. America's wildest and most savage rivers. LEFT The small figure of a man is dwarfed by the huge diversion tunnel at Gum Canyon Dam shortly before the Colorado River was diverted through the portaf,S. An aerial photograph shows a wide angle view of Gum Canyon Dam under construction. Looking upstream, you can see water gushing from the diversion tunnel. THE COMMISSION ----- The Upper Colorado River Commission is an interstate administrative agency created under the terms of the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact executed at Santa Fe, New Mexico on October 11, 1948, and subsequently ratified by each of the legislatures of the states and by the Congress of the United States. The Com­ mission represents the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming and the Federal Government. The major purposes of the Upper Colo­ rado River Basin Compact are: (1) to provide for the equitable division of the ..,._ use of waters of the Colorado River System ~ among the Upper Basin states, namely, .-" Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming; (2) to establish obligations of each state with respect to the delivery of water to the Lower Basin; (3) to pro­ mote interstate harmony; (4) to remove causes of controversies; (5) to secure the expeditious agricultural and industrial development of the Upper Basin states, -·~·\ , ......... the storage of water, and the protection ·,.• of life and property from floods. ·- MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION ARE: ROBERT J . NEWELL , ·­·~...... Chairman and Commissioner for United States ..... \,.. 1" -~ EDWIN C. JOHNSON, Commis.io11er for Colorado -.- .... \,- JOHN H. BLISS, Commissioner for New Mexico ··F.'·- ~. "'-- -~" ; GEORGE D. CLYDE, Commissioner for Utah -. ·-·' ~- .. EARL LLOYD, Conwuss,011er fo r Wyonung • ..•. ";: ~len Canyon Dam i_s o~e of the worl?'s. engi- GL [ N CA N Y Q N OA M neermg marvels. Its design 1s somewhat s1m1lar to Hoover Dam, although it will be larger in bulk but smaller in height than its downstream sister. When Glen Canyon Dam is completed in 1964, long, narrow Lake Powell will extend 186 miles into the heart of a little-explored, rugged but beautiful southern Utah wilderness, creating one of the larg­ est man-made lakes in the world. Construction of Glen Canyon Dam was nearly one-third complete by the beginning of 1960. At that time $125,611,440 in contracts had been let for Glen Canyon Dam. The entire unit is expected to cost $364 million. Power revenues alone will return far more than the cost. Workmen successfully diverted the turbulent A feeling of strength and beauty is conveyed by the structural steel of waters of the Colorado River through two giant di­ the Colorado River Bridge as it spans the gaping jaws of the canyon. version tunnels in February, 1959. Excavation work on the dam abutments, spillways, and foundation A dynamite blast sends smoke and debris into the air as workmen excavate for the foundation of Glen Canyon Dam. was nearly complete by the beginning of 1960. This year will see the first concrete poured in the massive ~:' ,~ . \ !:~" arch dam. ?:'r.\t ~ . \ The long and picturesque Colorado River bridge reached across the Colorado River and joined Utah and Arizona highways early in 1959. It was dedi­ cated and officially opened to traffic February 20, 1959. Construction of government facilities in Page, Arizona, were completed in 1959. Commercial and residential property in the damsite town will be sold to private individuals in 1960. After construction of the dam, Page promises to be the gateway to the Upper Basin, the gateway to scenic beauty, land of promise and opportunity. Workmen at Flaming Gorge drill and grout concrete in the diversion tunnel. A cabkway tower goes up on the right Fw.ming Gorge Dam will span the abutment at Fw.ming Green River in northeastern Utah, as shown Gorge Dam. in this aerial photograph and artist's drawing. A huge dump truck pw.ces earth and rock in the coffer dam at Fw.ming Gorge. ·: I FLAMING GORGE DAM Flaming Gorge Dam is being built on the Green River in northern Utah where in the dawn of western history rugged fur trappers held their famous rendezvous. A crystal mountain lake will lap the blazing gorges of the Uinta Mountains where buckskin-clad pioneers once plied their canoes, braved the dangerous rapids of the turbulent Green River and dodged the tomahawks of the Shoshoni and Blackfoot Indian. Famous mountain men such as Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, Gen. William Ashley and James Beckwourth were familiar participants in the annual Green River rendezvous and trading parties held at Henrys Fork, just upstream from the dam site. The nearby government town of Dutch John was named in honor of one of those legendary trappers. The concrete dam will rise nearly 500 feet out of bedrock to create the beautiful lake and second largest Storage Unit of the Colorado River Project. The dam also will provide revenue-producing hydroelectric power. A single diversion tunnel was drilled through 1,100 feet of solid sand­ stone to divert the waters of the Green River. Late in 1959 a rock and earth coffer dam changed the course of the river and water sloshed for the first time into the mouth of the gaping tunnel. Then workmen tackled the job of excavating the dam to bedrock. Pouring of the first concrete was expected by the summer of 1960. At the beginning of the year, Flaming-Gorge Dam was about 20 per cent complete with about three and one-half years left on the contract. Work progressed on schedule as the prime contractor, Arch Dam Con­ structors, continued excavation for dam abutments. A total of $35,889,402 in contracts had been let for Flaming Gorge Dam at the start of the new year. Total cost of the Unit is estimated at $73 million. Flaming Gorge Reservoir, like Lake Powell, has tremendous recrea­ tion potential. Beautiful pine forests, suckled by mountain waters, border the reservoir area, all within easy access of two interstate highways. Concrete is placed in the huge stilling basin at Navajo Dam. Work on the outlet structure below the tunnel at Navajo Dam nears completion. Nauajo Dam, the world's filth largest earthfill dam, is shown m this artist's conception. Navajo Dam will be among the largest earth-fill NA V A J O DA M dams in the world. Located in the noble setting of the proud Navajo Indian, this massive dam will rise nearly 40 stories ( 408 feet) out of the San Juan River, second largest tributary to the Colorado. Storage of water in the 35-mile-long reservoir will allow diversion of water to the Navajo Indian irrigation project, thereby bringing urgently needed moisture to 110,000 acres of dry, nonproductive land on the Navajo Indian Reservation.