In 1963 Glen Canyon Dam was constructed and the Colorado River changed forever. Suddenly the rivers flow were not dictated by nature, but rather by the dam’s operators. The rivers ecosystem quickly changed and natural sandbars that were built up each year by changing flows deteriorated. In 2008, the U.S. Department of the Interior decided to flood the Grand Canyon for the third time, which was supposed to mimic the natural flooding that occurred before the dam was constructed. More than 300,000 gallons of water per second went into the river and after the flood it was still unclear if the tactic had worked. Though some critics claimed flooding sporadically wasn’t enough, the Department of the Interior is waiting until 2012 to flood the canyon again.
