The history of Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River is one of Navajo connections to the river and canyon, colonial aspirations of a Civil War veteran and a Latter-Day Saints community, as well as the concerns of radical environmentalists in the 20th century. This episode explores how this watershed is tied to layers of history and stories about the role of water in western settlement. It also offers dire warning about the future of water across the American Southwest.

To see images related to this episode, please visit dornsife.usc.edu/icw.

Western Edition is hosted by William Deverell and produced by Avishay Artsy, Katie Dunham, Eryn Hoffman, Jessica Kim, and Elizabeth Logan. Western Edition is a production of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.