Flaming Gorge Dam, in a deep canyon of the Green River, NE Utah; built 1958-63 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as a major unit in the Colorado River storage project. The dam regulates the flow of the upper river and produces hydroelectricity. Flaming Gorge Lake, extending 91 mi (146 km) upstream, is part of Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, administered by the U.S. Forest Service. The canyon was named in 1869 by the U.S. explorer John Wesley Powell because the brilliant red gorge, from a distance, looked as if it were on fire.