What Are the Costs and Benefits of Damming a River?
ESU401  Changes in the Water Below the Dam
  !   Click each graph to see a larger version. Interpret the graphs to understand how the dam changed the water that flows through the Grand Canyon. Use the information to answer the question below.

Changes in discharge and temperature affect plants and animals in the Grand Canyon. Without the periodic flooding that brought nutrient-rich sediments to the canyon, habitats along the river have become stagnant. Also, the constant temperature of the water released from the cold bottom of Lake Powell limits the types of plants and aquatic animals that can survive and reproduce in the water.

5. Describe how discharge levels and water temperature in the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam changed after the dam was built.

 


	

 	

		
			
	

	
	

		 
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