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r.~~3 3"' I. I , .>. . CHAPTER II DESCRIPTION OF STUDY AREA Glen Canyon National Recreation Area When established by legislation the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area will include more than a million acres of land along the 257-mile reach of the Colorado River extending upstream from the area around Glen Canyon Dam. It will also include the north side of a 75-mile section of the San Juan River above the river's confluence with the Colorado River. The reserved area facilitates admfnistration by the National Park Service of recreation at Lake Powell, formed by Glen Canyon Dam. The dam was con- structed by the Bureau of Reclamation in the 1957-64 period. The lake, when filled, will be 186 miles long, the longest man-made lake in the United States, with 1,800 miles of canyon-indented shoreline. . Although only a few years old and not yet filled to capacity or eas- ily accessible at many points, Lake Powell is widely acclaimed for its unique beauty. Its bluish-green water, deep and clear, is set between steep, picturesque walls of rust-colored sandstone, with watery fingers winding through scores of narrow side canyons. Boat excursioners into the new canyons occasionally locate previously undiscovered cliff dwell- ings, pictographs, rock paintings, arches, and waterfalls. Visitors to the recreation area numbered 359,660 in 1966. Until recently, recrea- tional access to Lake Powell has been largely limited to the highly de- veloped Wahweap Area near Glen Canyon Dam. The important Bullfrog Basin, midway up the reservoir, was made more easily accessible by the 1968 com- pletion of Utah Highway 276 which connects the basin with Utah Highway 95 which is also being improved. Unimproved roads in San Juan County extend westward to Lake Powell at Red Canyon and Halls Crossing. Canyonlands National Park Created in 1964, Canyonlands is one of America's newest national parks. It covers 257,000 acres in San Juan, Wayne, and Garfield Counties, Utah, in an area surrounding the junction of the Green and Colorado Rivers. The park provides some of the Nation's most unusual and most undisturbed scenery. The landscape includes arches, needles, spires, broad plains, steep escarpments, bold mesas, and crenelated buttes. The Colorado and Green Rivers which slice through the park have been the greatest shapers of the scenery. Both rivers are entrenched in labyrinthine gorges and below their confluence the rivers enter the roaring depths of Cataract Canyon. Throughout the park adventurous visitors can make trips by jeep or by foot into the intricate canyons or around imposing rock formations. Parts of the park will remain wild back country, suitable for pack trip explorations on horseback. Since Canyonlands National Park is a recent addition to the National Park system, the work of constructing improve- ments and visitor facilities is only beginning. Camping and picnicking sites are being developed, trails marked for hiking, and roads constructed for auto and jeep trips. . 18