Disappearing Lake Powell underlines drought crisis facing Colorado river

As water levels plummet to 45% in America's second-largest reservoir, new islands appear - and fears grow for a waterway that serves 40 million peopleThe Colorado river and its tributaries took a hundred million years or two to carve the Glen Canyon out of the pink and scarlet sandstone which marks out the American southwest.Its myriad gorges, sheer cliffs and towering spires remained a largely hidden secret. Prehistoric peoples farmed part of the canyon and Navajo Indian communities built camps close to the river, but few modern Americans ventured there besides explorers until the canyon disappeared under a man-made wonder, the vast Lake Powell, with the construction of Glen Canyon dam half a century ago. Continue reading...