These sediments were important in maintaining the many sand beaches along the river such as the one we were now camped on. Now, without the constant replacement of these sedimentary deposits, the beaches are slowly eroding away. Many, in fact, are now completely gone, and ones like the one here near Vasey's Paradise will probably disappear within the next ten years. Fish are still plentiful in the river, but not the same species that were here when Powell rafted these waters. Today, the Colorado River is known for its trout.
Trout love cold, clear waters.
But so many other forms of both plant and animal life in the river are gone because of these changes. For all its compromises to the ecosystem, the Glen Canyon Dam only produces about three percent of all the electricity for the southwest region. It is by the mistakes of the past that we should be able to learn to do better in the present. Dams such as this one that filled the once spectacular Glen Canyon with water are now showing us some of these mistakes. Hopefully we will act more wisely in the future.