The Colorado River in Grand Canyon: how fast does it flow?

Fact Sheet 168-97
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Abstract

Opening the jet tubes at Glen Canyon Dam on March 26, 1996, released from Lake Powell a controlled flood of water that traveled down the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. How fast did the water move? How long did it take for water to reach a particular point along the river? The answers to these questions are important because the speed of river water affects the amount of physical and chemical changes, such as warming by sunlight, that the water will undergo as it moves downstream. Also, very fine particles and substances dissolved in the water travel along with the water, and the speed of the water tells us how fast these move downstream.

Study Area

Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title The Colorado River in Grand Canyon: how fast does it flow?
Series title Fact Sheet
Series number 168-97
DOI 10.3133/fs16897
Year Published 1997
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Description 4 p.
Country United States
State Arizona
Other Geospatial Colorado River;Grand Canyon
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
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