“Astronaut Photo Shows Lake Powell Gleaming Like a Silver Serpent in Utah” — what this page in the network covers. A striking 2016 photo mosaic from the International Space Station captures Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir in the United States, transformed by a phenomenon called sunglint into a brilliant, winding metallic ribbon. The effect occurs when sunlight reflects off the water's surface directly back at the camera, revealing the reservoir's intricate, river-like shape as it cuts through the red rock desert of southern Utah.
The image highlights the reservoir's role as a major water storage facility on the Colorado River, holding up to 24 million acre-feet of water when full. Lake Powell, created by the construction of Glen Canyon Dam in the 1960s, has long been a subject of both awe and controversy due to its impact on the region's ecology and the submergence of numerous archaeological and geological sites. The full version stays on the original page, which this listing opens directly.