Photos: Grand Canyon rafting, fall 2019

This page features photos of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park during a rafting trip in fall 2019.

The Colorado River carved the Grand Canyon over eons, but the timing and magnitude of the river’s flow were transformed by the construction of Glen Canyon Dam, which created Lake Powell. The dam also radically altered the river’s temperature and traps enormous amounts of sediment behind its face. The river’s ecology has been upended by the introduction of non-native fish, leading to the extirpation and endangerment of native species.

First protected as a national monument, Grand Canyon National Park was established in 1919 and now covers more than 1.2 million acres in Arizona, including 277 miles of the Colorado River.

For more on the challenges facing the Grand Canyon, see this in-depth 2018 project by the Arizona Republic.

DateSeptember/October 2019
LocationGrand Canyon National Park, Arizona (map)
CreditTed Wood/The Water Desk
RightsFree to reuse under Creative Commons license.

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