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Go inside the Glen Canyon Dam on this exclusive tour to learn how it makes power and why it’s in danger

Glen Canyon Dam on Lake Powell produces affordable, carbon-free hydropower for seven states. But its future is in doubt.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Glen Canyon Dam and high-voltage transmission towers in Page, Ariz. on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Glen Canyon Dam and high-voltage transmission towers in Page, Ariz. on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

By https://author-service-images-prod-us-east-1.publishing.aws.arc.pub/sltrib/3ce1493f-a3c2-45e6-804c-66b13c17d791.jpg Trevor Christensen
 | July 4, 2025, 6:00 a.m.

Like many people, you probably flip on a light switch without thinking about where the electricity in the wires is coming from.

For many people in the American West, at least some of their power comes from the Glen Canyon Dam, which sits on the Utah-Arizona border and forms Lake Powell.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Some of the eight generators at Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

Related: Protect hydropower or threatened fish? Utah Republicans take sides in battle over Glen Canyon Dam.

The Salt Lake Tribune went inside the dam to understand how it uses water to make hydroelectric power and how climate change and drought threaten its future.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gauges at Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Field Division Manager Gus Levy at Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz. on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz., on Monday, May 19, 2025.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A turbine on display at Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz., on Monday, May 19, 2025.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Transmission towers near Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz., on Monday, May 19, 2025.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A panel at Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

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