Why did America choose to drown one of the most spectacular canyons in the American West?

Glen Canyon was a remote landscape shaped by the Colorado River for millions of years. Then America made a decision: build one of the largest dams of its era, move the river, and fill the canyon behind it.

This documentary follows how Glen Canyon Dam was planned, how Page was built around the project, how engineers constructed the bridge and diversion tunnels, how millions of cubic yards of concrete were placed, and what happened when the river finally began filling Lake Powell.

But the engineering story is only half of it.

Before the water rose, archaeologists, photographers, engineers, residents and visitors documented a landscape that would soon disappear beneath Lake Powell.

Today, as Lake Powell reaches historically low levels, parts of that buried landscape are becoming visible again.

The question is not simply how America built the dam.

It is why America decided that this canyon had to be filled.

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CHAPTERS
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00:00 The Canyon We Chose to Fill
00:25 It Was Planned
00:50 The Place Few Knew
02:00 The Line at Lee Ferry
03:40 Why Here?
04:30 A Town on Sand
05:50 No Railroad
06:35 A Bridge From Both Walls
07:40 Two Tunnels
08:30 The River Moved
09:30 The Concrete Machine
10:25 24 Tons on a Wire
11:40 The Last Bucket
12:30 Closing the Tunnel
13:15 The Last Look
14:00 Power On
15:10 What Was Lost
16:20 What the Water Kept
17:20 Now You Can Read It
17:55 The Answer

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SOURCES & HISTORICAL MATERIAL
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Primary and reference material used in the production includes:

• U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
• NASA Earth Observatory / USGS
• National Park Service
• University of Utah Marriott Library — Glen Canyon Collection
• Utah State Historical Society
• Northern Arizona University / Cline Library
• Arizona Memory Project
• Archives West
• Museum of Northern Arizona
• HathiTrust
• Western Waters Digital Library
• National Archives

Historical photographs, engineering records, maps, government publications and modern satellite imagery were selected from these collections where applicable.

Repository ownership does not necessarily mean that every individual image is public domain. Third-party material is credited to its respective repository/rights holder, and rights may vary by individual item.

U.S. Government material is used from applicable federal collections and publications. Third-party archival material is identified and credited where used.

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🎵 MUSIC / BGM LICENSING
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Background music used in this documentary includes tracks downloaded from Pixabay under the applicable Pixabay Content License.

1. “Price of Freedom”
Creator: good_b_music
Audio ID: 33106
Licensee: u_29fut0fcht
Downloaded: October 6, 2026
Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/music/beautiful-p...

2. “War”
Creator: kulakovka
Audio ID: 283965
Licensee: u_29fut0fcht
Downloaded: October 6, 2026
Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/music/dubstep-war...

3. “Cold War”
Creator: the_mountain
Audio ID: 141470
Licensee: u_29fut0fcht
Downloaded: October 6, 2026
Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/music/modern-clas...

The corresponding Pixabay License Certificates have been retained as production records.

Pixabay Content License / Terms:
https://pixabay.com/service/terms/

Note: Pixabay's license certificate confirms the download pursuant to its Content License. Pixabay also states that uploaded content is provided by individual licensors and that Pixabay does not warrant that all required third-party consents have been obtained.

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© ARCHIVAL / EDITORIAL NOTICE
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This documentary is an independently produced historical and educational work by Continental Record.

Archival photographs, documents, maps, footage and other historical materials are used for purposes including historical research, criticism, commentary, education, documentation and storytelling. Where applicable, material may be used under the terms of the relevant repository/license or applicable copyright exceptions such as fair use.

Fair use is determined on a case-by-case basis and this notice does not itself establish fair use for any particular material.

If you are a rights holder and believe material has been used incorrectly, please contact Continental Record with the relevant item and rights information so the matter can be reviewed.

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Continental Record
American History • Engineering • Infrastructure • Forgotten Stories

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