This image follows the Colorado River as it flows into Lake Powell on the Utah-Arizona border, through the Glen Canyon dam at Page, Arizona, and then into Marble Canyon. The Grand Canyon begins just southwest of Marble Canyon and the San Juan River joins the Colorado River at the northeast edge of this image. The main section of Lake Powell has a very distinctive shape as seen from the vantage point of space. The dam, a large marina in the lake, and the streets of Page are easily seen in this image. Lake Powell is the second largest man-made lake in the United States with a shoreline longer than the Pacific coast from Seattle to San Diego. The colors in this image are due to differences in mineral composition around Lake Powell. These colors cannot be seen in visible light. Note that there is a significant difference in the composition of the rocks north of the lake compared to the composition of the rocks south of the lake.

The area covered by this image is approximately 56x50 miles. A full-resolution crop of the image file is available here that shows the detail present in the full image print.

The impact of the drought in the West can be seen by this image that was constructed from data obtained Fall, 2003. At that time Lake Powell was approximately 100 feet low.