… For eons, the Colorado River flowed through this canyon, its pounding rapids carving the landscape. In 1963, though, the government—determined to tame the river and feed the Southwest’s unrelenting appetite for water—built Glen Canyon Dam. Slowly, year by year, the giant reservoir it created backed upstream, drowning 18 rapids whole and transforming 186 miles of what had been a rushing river into a wide, still, man-made pool. After that, it was eerily quiet, the river current slackening as it submitted to the lake. But if you visit this place now, you’ll hear a rumble. And there, right in front of you, you’ll see it: white water flashing in the sun. A standing wave big enough to flip a boat. Water moving and moving fast. A rapid, drowned for 60 years, is emerging from the depths. To understand this story, we’ll need to time travel.

Other Colorado River news:

• The Colorado Sun (Denver): Colorado River’s hidden, below-ground reservoir is quickly shrinking, researchers say
• ABC15 (Phoenix, Ariz.): How the real London Bridge ended up in the Arizona desert