Location / Description
Page, situated on
a mesa in extreme north-central Arizona, is the gateway to Glen Canyon National
Recreation Area and Lake Powell. Created as a company town for the construction
of Glen Canyon Dam in the 1960s, it has steadily grown, adding more and more
amenities not usually experienced in a small desert town.
In the southern portion
of the Great Basin Desert, Page is also becoming a strong regional shopping area
with national store chains. Page has a relaxed lifestyle, but is certainly competitive
in the marketplace. Page has more than 3 million visitors per year; the average
stay is 48 hours -- the highest in the National Park Service. Page is a young
town with the average age between 33 and 40. Visitors from all nations
are welcomed in the Page/Lake Powell area.
Population / Elevation
- 6,200 people /4,300 Lake Powell is 3,700 feet above sea level.
Weather / Climate
Summers are extremely hot, with little, if any, shade. Winters are moderately cold with night time lows often below freezing. Spring weather is highly variable with extended periods of winds. Fall weather is usually mild. Temperatures range from 110° F in June & July to 0° F in December and January. Precipitation is generally light (less than 6 inches annually) though heavy rains and flash flooding can occur in spring and summer. Recommend lightweight, light colored clothing for summer, including a hat. Layers of clothing are best for other times of the year.
| Page, Arizona - Monthly Climate Normals |
| |
Year |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| High °F |
46.5
|
42.8
|
50.8
|
59.5
|
69.2
|
79.6
|
91.0
|
96.4
|
93.4
|
84.5
|
71.2
|
55.0
|
44.1
|
| Low °F |
30.5
|
25.0
|
30.8
|
37.1
|
44.3
|
53.2
|
63.1
|
69.3
|
67.3
|
58.9
|
47.2
|
35.2
|
26.5
|
| 31 |
| Average °F |
38.5
|
33.9
|
40.8
|
48.3
|
56.8
|
66.4
|
77.1
|
82.9
|
80.0
|
71.7
|
59.2
|
45.1
|
35.3
|
| Rain |
6.49
|
0.53
|
0.48
|
0.67
|
0.45
|
0.45
|
0.16
|
0.50
|
0.68
|
0.69
|
0.80
|
0.55
|
0.52
|
History
The Glen Canyon project
was conceived by the United States Bureau of Reclamation as part of the Upper
Colorado River Storage Project. This was to be the dividing point of the Upper
Basin and the Lower Basin of the Colorado River. Toward that end, the Glen Canyon
Project was authorized by Congress in the spring of 1956; that fall the first
construction contract was awarded. President Dwight D. Eisenhower pushed a button
in Washington, and by voice control, a detonating cap burst and sent the first
shower of rock spilling into Glen Canyon of the Colorado River. The work had
begun.
This was also the beginning of Page, Arizona. Page, unlike other towns in the area, was created in 1957 to provide housing for dam workers and their families. This was a major undertaking as there were no roads into what became the construction camp of Page. The city was named by the Bureau for John C. Page who had been Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. Mr. Page had overseen the construction of Hoover Dam.
Because the land was, by treaty, part of the Navajo reservation, the Bureau of Reclamation, working together with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Navajo Tribe, had previously effected a land exchange. The tribe was given land in New Mexico in exchange for the 17 square mile area that would become the site of Page.
A transportation artery was cut from U.S. Highway 89, up the cliff face towards Manson Mesa. Trailers were the first types of homes and then the Bureau built houses for its management personnel. The Merritt/Chapman Construction Company as the prime contractor provided trailer parking for its people. A school in a Quonset hut was begun and Page began its climb toward the town of today.
Page is in the upper right of the above photo. Eventually, atop Manson Mesa, roads were graded, pipes stubbed in, and one grocery, one gas station and several churches were constructed. Quonset hut dormitories came next. The cafeterias for the workers produced hundreds of meals a day and more than a few funny stories.
Completion of the bridge across the Colorado River, just downstream from the progressing dam construction, finally made work go much smoother and allowed the town of Page to grow much faster. Prior to completion of the bridge, the road from one side of the canyon to the other, a visual distance of little more than a thousand feet, was 250 miles of slow driving.
Today Page has 6,800 citizens and sits on Manson Mesa between two of the largest electrical generation units in the West. Glen Canyon Dam has a 1,288,000 kilowatts capacity when fully online. The other power plant to the South is the Navajo Generating Station, a coal-fired steam plant with an output capability of 2,250,000 kilowatts. The coal is mined at the Kayenta Mine on Black Mesa by the Peabody Coal Company. It is transported 78 miles to Lake Powell, first by an automatic, covered conveyor, then by completely automated, electric trains.
Things To Do
| Hotels/Motels
There are hotels and motels in Page with something for every taste and price range. For more information and a complete list. Click Here. (Hotel Rates , availability, reviews and reservation online)
Click here for House Boats
|
| Camping & RV Parks
There are many commercial and National Park Service locations for camping and RVs in and near Page.
For a complete list contact:
Page-Lake Powell Chamber of Commerce
644 North Navajo Drive, Suite C
P.O. Box 727 ~ Page, Arizona
928-645-2741
|
Resources & Nearby Attractions
Resources
Cities & Towns
(Highway Miles)
- Kanab, Utah: 73 miles west.
- Cameron, Arizona: 83 miles south.
- Jacob Lake, Arizona: 80 miles west.
- Kayenta, Arizona: 95 miles east.
- Flagstaff, Arizona: 136 miles south.
Parks & Monuments
Recreation & Wilderness Areas
Historic & Points of Interest
- John Wesley Powell Museum
Page, AZ
928-645-9496 voice
928-645-3412 fax.
- Navajo Reservation: 5 miles east.
- Lees Ferry: 37 miles south
- Glen Canyon Dam: 5 miles west
- Black Mesa: 85 miles east. miles east.
