Thursday, March 6, 2008

Engineering The Deluge

It even made the news in France.The Grand Canyon was flooded today -- intentionally. "Torrents of water roared from the base of the Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona as federal authorities unleashed a man-made flood designed to help restore the Grand Canyon's ecosystem," writes the LAT.
"More than 300,000 gallons of water per second were being released from Lake Powell above the dam near the Arizona-Utah border, enough to fill the Empire State Building in 20 minutes [...] After the flood ends Friday, officials hope the water will leave behind sediment and restore sandbars as it goes back to normal levels."

The rushing river waters, which began carving the Grand Canyon 17 millions years ago, were allowed to roam free for a day, but will be tamed again -- and the Dam returned to its great powering mission, which includes the millions of slot machines in Las Vegas. More on the story via the NZ Herald, and in French via 7x7.
photos Reuters