Last updated: June 2, 2022
Place
Harpers Corner Trail Stop 16
NPS Photo/Conrad Provan
Quick Facts
Amenities
1 listed
Scenic View/Photo Spot
People can also alter the land. While our changes are usually not on the same scale as natural forces, they often occur much more rapidly. In the 1950s, controversy arose over a proposal to build a dam for water storage and power generation in Dinosaur National Monument directly below this point at the head of Whirlpool Canyon. Many people protested that the Green and Yampa Canyons deserved to remain in their natural state. Ultimately, the protests were heeded and a dam was instead built at Flaming Gorge, 70 miles (113 Kilometers) upstream on the Green River from here.
Even though the dam was located outside the monument, it still affects this area. Stream side plants, some considered invasive, are no longer scoured out by spring floods and are spreading. Native fish, adapted to muddy water have retreated to the Yampa River because most of the Green River’s sediment now settles behind the dam. Four of these fish are now Federally listed as Endangered Species.
Changes such as these may or may not seem significant, but they illustrate an important, sometimes forgotten fact: despite our power to shape our world, we are still subject to interdependent, natural processes. Every change we make sets in motion more changes, often far reaching and acting faster than some natural systems can react.
National Parks and Monuments were created to preserve places like Harpers Corner. If you could come back 100 years from now, what changes do you think you would see? As you retrace your steps along the trail, take a moment to think about your role as a steward for wild places like Dinosaur National Monument.
Even though the dam was located outside the monument, it still affects this area. Stream side plants, some considered invasive, are no longer scoured out by spring floods and are spreading. Native fish, adapted to muddy water have retreated to the Yampa River because most of the Green River’s sediment now settles behind the dam. Four of these fish are now Federally listed as Endangered Species.
Changes such as these may or may not seem significant, but they illustrate an important, sometimes forgotten fact: despite our power to shape our world, we are still subject to interdependent, natural processes. Every change we make sets in motion more changes, often far reaching and acting faster than some natural systems can react.
National Parks and Monuments were created to preserve places like Harpers Corner. If you could come back 100 years from now, what changes do you think you would see? As you retrace your steps along the trail, take a moment to think about your role as a steward for wild places like Dinosaur National Monument.