Black Canyon of the Colorado Black Canyon of the Colorado The Black Canyon of the Colorado is the canyon on the Colorado River where Hoover Dam was built. The canyon is located on the Colorado River at the state line between Nevada and Arizona. The western wall of the gorge is in the El Dorado Mountains, and the eastern wall is in the Black Mountains of Arizona. The canyon formed about 15 million years ago during the Miocene Basin and Range uplift. Black Canyon gets its name from the black volcanic rocks that are found throughout the area. Just south of the Hoover Dam on
Course of the Colorado River load. The area around the confluence is dominated geographically by Navajo Mountain which rises over a mile (1.6 km) above the surrounding landscape, which is part of the Navajo Nation. Rainbow Bridge, one of the highest natural bridges in the world, is located at the tip of an arm of Lake Powell at the foot of Navajo Mountain. Glen Canyon Dam, which creates Lake Powell, is situated in the town of Page in northern Arizona only about by river from the Utah border. The dam impounds the Colorado primarily for hydroelectricity generation. In front of the dam the Glen Canyon