Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

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Petroglyphs in GCNRA
Petroglyphs in GCNRA
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Location Kane, San Juan, Garfield, and Wayne counties, Utah & Coconino County, Arizona, USA
Nearest city Page, Arizona, Bullfrog, Utah
Coordinates 36°59′37″N 111°29′13″W / 36.99361, -111.48694
Area 1,254,429 acres (5,076 km²)
Established October 27, 1972
Visitors 1,832,378 (in 2004)
Governing body National Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Glen Canyon NRA or GCNRA) is a recreation and conservation unit of the National Park Service (USA) that encompasses the area around Lake Powell in Utah and Arizona, covering 1,254,429 acres (5,076 km²) of mostly desert. The recreation area borders Capitol Reef National Park and Canyonlands National Park on the north, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument on the west, and Grand Canyon National Park on the south.

The Glen Canyon NRA was established in 1972 "to provide for public use and enjoyment and to preserve the area's scientific, historic, and scenic features."

The stated purpose of Glen Canyon NRA is for recreation as well as preservation (whereas a national park may carry more emphasis on natural preservation). As such, the area has been developed for access to Lake Powell via 5 marinas, 4 camping grounds, two small airports, and houseboat rental concessions.

The southwestern end of Glen Canyon NRA in Arizona can be accessed via U.S. Route 89 and State Route 98. State Route 95 and State Route 276 lead to the northeastern end of the recreation area in Utah.

The current Lake Powell lies above Glen Canyon, which was flooded by the Glen Canyon Dam, completed in 1966.

Contents

[edit] Recreation

Lake Powell has nearly 2,000 miles of fish-holding shoreline and provides opportunity to fish for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and striped bass that swim in the midst of the recreation area.

Lake Powell National Golf Course Championship is an 18-hole course sitting on a high mesa overlooking the Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell, and Vermillion Cliffs.

Several local marinas make available for tourist houseboats, powerboats, jet skis, kayaks, fishing gear, and related equipment.

[edit] Graffiti Removal and Intervention Team (GRIT)

With over one million visitors per year, it is inevitable that some will deface the rock faces of the canyon. The Glen Canyon NRA has implemented a voluntourism program wherein volunteers sign up for a five-day houseboat trip to remove graffiti from the canyon walls.[1]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Graffiti Removal and Intervention Team. Glen Canyon NRA. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.

[edit] External links

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