The Grand Valley Diversion Dam is a diversion dam in the

De Beque Canyon De Beque Canyon is a narrow canyon on the Colorado River in western Colorado in the United States. It is approximately 15 miles (24 km) long, located on the river downstream from the town of De Beque, in eastern Mesa County. The canyon forms ...

of the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

, about northeast of Grand Junction,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It is a high, long concrete

roller dam A Roller dam is a type of hydro-control device specially designed to mitigate erosion. They are most often used to divert water for irrigation but the largest and most notable examples are used to ease river navigation. The world's first roller ...

with six gates, which were the first and largest of their kind to be installed in the United States. The dam was built between 1913 and 1916 as part of the Grand Valley Project of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and diverts water into the Government Highline Canal for the full irrigation of and supplemental irrigation to in western Colorado's Grand Valley. A small hydroelectric plant with a capacity of 3,000 kilowatts (KW) was completed in 1933 on the Orchard Mesa Power Canal, a branch of the Government Highline Canal. In 1949, the dam and canal system were transferred to the Grand Valley Water Users Association, while the power plant was consigned to the Orchard Mesa Irrigation District. Grand Valley Diversion Dam was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on October 8, 1991.

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places Dams on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado Buildings and structures in Mesa County, Colorado Dams in Colorado United States Bureau of Reclamation dams Dams completed in 1916 Roller dams Dams on the Colorado River Historic American Engineering Record in Colorado Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado National Register of Historic Places in Mesa County, Colorado 1916 establishments in Colorado